The primary task of a developer in a modern "agile" team is to take a small bite-sized piece of functionality and alter or add code to implement it.
A very large number of job candidates aren't very good at this. So something like it needs to be tested for.
Personally, I love code. For me, an exercise like this is like whittling or molding clay, tactile and creative. I wouldn't want to work for a company that isn't interested in my craftsmanship, independent of everything else at higher levels of abstraction or closer to the business. Why? Because it will hire other people who don't care, and the code will be ugly, and it will be an eternal uphill battle to stay sane.
A very large number of job candidates aren't very good at this. So something like it needs to be tested for.
Personally, I love code. For me, an exercise like this is like whittling or molding clay, tactile and creative. I wouldn't want to work for a company that isn't interested in my craftsmanship, independent of everything else at higher levels of abstraction or closer to the business. Why? Because it will hire other people who don't care, and the code will be ugly, and it will be an eternal uphill battle to stay sane.