CatCoder

The CatCoder is a web application for coding contests.

CatCoder for Assessments

The following conversation is taken from the book “Wien wartet auf dich” by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister:

Ringmaster: For how long have you been juggling already?
Applicant: For about six years.
Ringmaster: Are you able to juggle with 3, 4 and 5 balls?
Applicant: Yes, yes, and yes.
Ringmaster: Can you also work with buring objects?
Applicant: Of course.
Ringmaster: … with knives, axes, opened cigar boxes, hats?
Applicant: I can juggle with everything.
Ringmaster: And do you also have some sound bites to Und haben Sie auch ein paar flotte Sprüche for the audience to laugh?
Applicant: They always laugh their heads off.
Ringmaster: That all sounds very fine. I think, you’ll get the job.
Applicant: Hmmm … don’t you want to see me juggle?
Ringmaster: Oh, I just didn’t think of that.

In our industry - software development - this situation happens all the time. With the CatCoder you can make the coding capabilities of your applicants visible.

  • Some job applications won’t be prepared to contest - then you’ll know what you can think of them already.
  • Some job applicants will decide during the CatCoder test that they are not capable enough - then you can spare yourself the job interview.
  • And with the remaining job applicants, you can discuss a real piece of source code during the following interview - you have some facts about the applicant’s capabilities and how productive he / she can work under pressure.

Of course, that’s only a single snapshot. But we - Catalysts - like that approach much better than hiring developers, then not being sure about whether or not to keep them after the trial month, not terminating them after the trial month but keeping them onboard of the team and finally ending up with a team of mediocre software developers.

What we have seen is the following: the news tests gets around that one has to pass the CatCoder test in order to be employed with Catalysts as software developer. For candidates that means that the staff members of Catalysts must be extraordinarily good software developers. Since good developers want to work in a team of good developers, more and more good developers start to apply ;-)

Use that CatCoder effect to the benefits of your company as well!

CatCoder for Internal Trainings

The CatCoder can also be used for internal trainings, to get authentic feedback about oneself, to get better by time or to see where one stands in relation to the other team members.

We - at Catalysts - have at least one internal CatCoder conteest every quarter of a year - one prepares the exercise and all others try to solve it. Within 1 or 2 hours we know the winner and then discuss our different approaches.

It is always very exciting and we learn from each other.

CatCoder for Coding Contests

Catalysts regularly organizes public coding contests (Catalysts’ Coding Contest) where pupils, students and practitioners compete against each other for the awards.

Of course there is prize money and there are material prizes.

But it’s more about the fame of being the winner - because one can honetly be proud of oneself if one manages to be among the first 10 to finish or even be the one to win the contest.