REFACTORING-BASICS5 MIN READ
Walk a Legacy Function to a Safe First Change
Plan a first safe refactoring move in untested legacy code.
Legacy pressure Claims parser, no tests, Thursday deadline, and a production incident already open. The risk is not that refactoring is slow; the risk is changing behavior you cannot see. Safe-change path Characterize -> seam -> small refactor -> new behavior The path narrows uncertainty before it narrows code. Shortcut Edit the parser directly and hope manual QA catches drift. The new claim type lands with a visible safety net. Feedback before courage. 01 Observe 02 Isolate 03 Try fresh Observe current behavior Step 1
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