How did you approach working with legacy code in your project?

When working with legacy code in a project, I usually follow these approaches:

• Analysis and understanding — first, I study how the existing code works, what dependencies and features it has.

• Test coverage — if there are no tests, I try to add them to ensure safe refactoring.

• Step-by-step refactoring — I do not rewrite everything at once, but gradually improve the code, fix outdated constructs, and update libraries.

• Documenting changes — I record what and why I changed so that the team is aware.

• Using modern standards — for example, transitioning to newer PHP versions, using modern functions and approaches.

This approach helps minimize risks and improve code quality without losing functionality.