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    Obligatory joel on software post - joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.html Commented Sep 17, 2013 at 13:50
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    What that article doesn't address is the situation that Boumbles is in, where the existing code is buggy, and that no one knows how it works. Commented Sep 17, 2013 at 14:07
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    I dare say not knowing how it works would be an even bigger argument against fiddling with it ;). Unless there is testing against existing functionality either approach can be tricky... Commented Sep 17, 2013 at 15:05
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    For obligatory link completeness: amazon.com/Working-Effectively-Legacy-Michael-Feathers/dp/… Commented Sep 17, 2013 at 17:17
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    @Boumbles: "someday" means never. Your team did not understand the value of such tests for a legacy project like this, otherwise you would start writing such tests right now, daily. And do yourself a favor, get a copy of Michael Feathers book (see link given by psr above) and make sure every team member knows some of the core practices of that book. Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 6:22