> Then, if the bullshitter gets to the end of the sprint and says they didn't complete a 1-2 day task in 10 days, you can start asking why. They do this consistently across 2-3 sprints, you know something is up. Assume they're more junior than their job title and try giving them easier tasks. Still not getting much done? They're a bullshitter. Fire them / raise with their manager.
Another contributing cause of this can be that they have gotten into the habit of accepting other people's bullshit.
Example:
Bob says "I don't think I understand enough about X to do task T well".
Sue, (partly worried what people would think of her if she negotiated similar time for learning) feels great discomfort hearing Bob's self-deprecating* statement. Motivated to escape this discomfort, she 'helpfully' tells him that he is just suffering from impostor syndrome.
(Bullshit: It might be true, but the function to produce the statement did not take real-world evidence as a parameter)
Bob mostly-believes this and doesn't feel confident that it is wise to allocate his time to learn X. He should 'just get it done'.
Bob starts working on task T and feels frustrated and confused. Bob starts asking questions on slack that anyone with a solid understanding of X would know are irrelevant. He does not get helpful answers.
Bob, hearing that he's trying to 'understand the universe' doesn't see a way forward but to put more time into task T. He stays up late working on it ineffectively.
Bob goes into standup having accomplished very little and gained little understanding. Bob's duty to his team and his health is to confidently state this truth. Bob is sleep-deprived and ashamed of his lack of progress. He feels motivated to escape this discomfort. He says the task will be done by standup tomorrow.
(Bullshit: It might be true, but the function to produce the statement did not take real-world evidence as a parameter)
Bob stays up late again. Bob accomplishes little. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLBO7L5G2DQ
10 days later, Bob still does not really understand how to make progress on his task.
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Bob gets fired shortly thereafter. He has multiple hypotheses for what he should have done better, but none he is confident in. At his next job, he is on hyper-vigilant alert for a similar situation. When he encounters it, the memory of getting fired and the uncertainty of what to do makes him feel deeply uncomfortable. Discomfort-avoidance leads him to get on hackernews rather than focus on his work.
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* "I have gaps in my skills and am capable of learning" is a healthy problem to have. "I am unqualified to judge when I need more understanding of something to move forward" is an unhealthy problem.
Thus, we should exercise a duty of care to the truth when telling people that they have Impostor Syndrome.