[gorpomon]

1) The assignment is mid-flow after we're reasonably sure we'd want to work with said person, and if the assignment results in decline, I give actionable feedback why.

2) The time commitment can often be more on our end, several engineers review it, it's probably equal or more man hours. I think doing a block of fixed time would be more stressful, I've had to do that and it wasn't fun.