I used to be a lead software engineer and conducted dozens of interviews and phone screens. I would simply look at existing problems I had solved recently and a

I used to be a lead software engineer and conducted dozens of interviews and phone screens. I would simply look at existing problems I had solved recently and ask the candidate how they would solve them. If they came up with something on par with my solution or better I would recommend them for a second interview. If they talked around the problem and just dropped buzzwords I knew right away they weren't a good match and/or didn't know their stuff. This approach is straightforward, real-world, and you can find out about a person this way in as little as 15 minutes.