<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="true">The author discovered significant issues in a client project's codebase upon joining, including numerous static classes and tightly coupled logic.The project had seen multiple tech leads in a short period, signaling problems from the start.The codebase, originally a prototype, had grown into a critical operations tool used by over 200 individuals daily.Making changes to the code felt precarious, as every adjustment led to side effects and regression bugs.The author's task was to stabilize and modernize the complex and intertwined code.During the initial week, no new code was written; instead, the author focused on mapping dependencies and identifying patterns.A major issue identified was the code's dependency on every other part, making it difficult to isolate logic for testing purposes.