So, I understand and am incredibly sympathetic to the stress problem some folks have. I also occasionally freeze up when put on the spot, though I fortunately tend to recover after a minute or so of verbal stumbling.

That said, hiring quality engineers is HARD, and often ends up coming down to a numbers game. If I've got 100 applicants to go through and know (from past experience) that over 80% of them couldn't code their way out of a wet paper bag, then I need short, deterministic interview techniques that will identify those candidates who are actually worth my time. Thus: fizzbuzz. I've met lots of folks who talk a great game, have all kinds of experience listed on their resume, and yet somehow can't write up a linked list or fizzbuzz solution in any language.

So, I accept that there will be some false negatives in order to more quickly narrow the focus down to those few rare folks that can actually code. It sucks: it isn't entirely fair to folks who struggle with stress/nerves, but I need a 5-15 minute litmus test that can be done remotely and I haven't found anything else more effective.

Short of wasting everyone's time with take-home projects (which I often employ in later stages of the interview process), what other options are out there?