[nzmsv]

You talk to them. And even more importantly, you listen.

You'll quickly learn that strawmen such as features built for the sake of it don't actually exist. When you think you have found one, ask yourself why. Why did that engineer choose to rewrite a working piece of code? Could it be that there is no documentation and the person who wrote it left the company? Could the engineer be eager to prove themselves and nobody is giving them a bigger task? Did they want to learn a new technical area?

Or take security theater. Could it be an external regulatory requirement?

Of course sometimes the reason may be "a relative needed a job" but that is still different from "just because" :)