Re-writing the code

As usual, Joel (Joel on software) has the guts to address sensitive subjects.

There it is something that needs more details in the article... read it first, then think about this: what if the code is indeed a mess? What if an experienced analyst / designer will realize some limitations and the code HAS to be re-written? In this situation, there has to be a clear check list of how to address that, how to start re-writing the code, how to define your framework and all that. Not start from scratch and re-write, just address the wrong parts or, even if rewriting everything, at least allow a progressive change, so partial stable releases can be delivered.... etc.

On the Juno project we spent several months rearchitecting at one point: just
moving things around, cleaning them up, creating base classes that made sense,
and creating sharp interfaces between the modules. But we did it carefully, with
our existing code base, and we didn't introduce new bugs or throw away working
code.

This is a subject to address more: if re-writing code is the decision that cannot be avoided, how do you address that with less pain. But, better take Joel's advice: do not re-write.

Things You Should Never Do, Part I

http://joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.html