I like the idea of taking notes and then making your decision based on the notes. That's how the Google interviewing process worked, and I think it emphasizes

I like the idea of taking notes and then making your decision based on the notes. That's how the Google interviewing process worked, and I think it emphasizes the things that matter and lets you filter through the things that don't. People have a laundry list of things to do in an interview to hack the system: what you wear, what kinds of follow-up questions you ask, etc. None of those things ever make it into the notes. Only your thought process as it applies to software engineering ends up in there. To some extent, this really mirrors how we buy consumer products. We read a bunch of experiences and data collected by other people, then make a decision based only on those written notes. Meanwhile, enterprise products are sold by who buys you the best golf outing or who sends you the nicest holiday present. If you remove that source of bias, only the facts stand out. Could be a good technique to apply more widely. Do you want the product that has the best experience from other users, or do you want the one that buys you stuff every few months? As the purchasing manager, of course you want the kickbacks. But the company itself probably wants the one with the best user experience. Something to think about.