This is very similar to what I do for roles that are supposed to be independent and to work with customer software. I ask the interviewee to do something with a

This is very similar to what I do for roles that are supposed to be independent and to work with customer software. I ask the interviewee to do something with a technology or software they don't know, but give them no other constraints. They can use whatever programming language, whatever OS, whatever IDE, whatever existing libraries online and even IRC/Slack if time permits - the goal is to see that they can solve a problem that is new to them without panicking. In real life they'll have a lifeline or two in the form of colleagues, but those colleagues might also not have the answers. Obviously a terrible solution for a standard product engineering position, it is only relevant for special roles.