Get the most important things right first. Make sure the full project is split into some reasonable modules with well-defined dependencies. The internal qualit

Get the most important things right first. Make sure the full project is split into some reasonable modules with well-defined dependencies. The internal quality of a given module is less important as long at what it does and what it depends on is clear. It can be easier and more powerful to throw out / replace than refactor / rewrite. Modularization is what enables this. Make sure that version control is properly used (everything including configuration is under vcs, what is in production can be easily produced, commits are done in small meaningful units), builds are reproducable. These things are more important than detailed unit testing, documentation and test coverage. Lastly. Get used to it. Most larger projects have tons of bad code.