I start pretty open ended, then ask specific questions about their choices. I almost always ask them to describe some of the schema of the db or how pieces of their project were communicating with each other... I also ask them what they like about their language of choice and why. I keep the questions specific to their projects and experience though.
I should add that I strongly favor candidate with open source experience, so most of the time I'll have also looked at their code myself and may have some questions about it.
The number one thing I look for is: can this person ship software? I'll ask a lot about the project lifecycle, what they did to get it across the finish line, how they supported and enhanced it... I try to do this in a non-leading way.
> "I should add that I strongly favor candidate with open source experience, so most of the time I'll have also looked at their code myself and may have some questions about it."
So, that's the most important part missing from your original comment. From that, I would assume that you never hired a developer without looking at their code before/after an interview. Is that right to assume?
Basically open sourced code (and not the interview) act as a substitute for coding tests in your process
No, I've hired plenty of people who haven't had open source contributions. It just makes the conversation easier when I can see their code beforehand. I also find that the really good people tend to do open source or personal projects, so there's a high overlap there.
So you so hired plenty of people without never looking on code they wrote?
How that variable affects the outcome? Is your hiring process any better/worse comparing when you can read their code and when you cannot read their code?
I should add that I strongly favor candidate with open source experience, so most of the time I'll have also looked at their code myself and may have some questions about it.
The number one thing I look for is: can this person ship software? I'll ask a lot about the project lifecycle, what they did to get it across the finish line, how they supported and enhanced it... I try to do this in a non-leading way.