Yep. This question is actually: "Tell me about a project in which you demonstrate the skills and character attributes that I am looking for without me telling

Yep. This question is actually: "Tell me about a project in which you demonstrate the skills and character attributes that I am looking for without me telling you what those are." A good interviewer will ask questions like this only having given you enough context to choose the most appropriate example. A bad interviewer will not, instead believing that the less information they give you the more revealing your answers will be. All they achieve is to introduce more chance into the interview process by leading you to pick less relevant examples.