It means identify & fix the specific problems of the existing asset, rather than foolishly trying to rewrite. Source: Much experience with surgical refactoring

It means identify & fix the specific problems of the existing asset, rather than foolishly trying to rewrite. Source: Much experience with surgical refactoring/ re-engineering/ rearchitecture. Plus observation of the after-the-fact results of many less experienced teams "writing" or "rewriting" software.