> In this scenario, I've found that the only productive way forward is to do the best job you can, in your own isolated code, and share loudly and frequently wh

> In this scenario, I've found that the only productive way forward is to do the best job you can, in your own isolated code, and share loudly and frequently why you're doing things your new different way. Now you have N+1 ways. It can work if you manage to get a majority of a team to support your efforts, create good interfaces into the legacy code paths, and most importantly: write meaningful and useful integration tests against that interface. Michael Feathers wrote a wonderful book about this called, Working Effectively with Legacy Code. I think what the author is trying to say with consistency is to avoid adding even more paths, layers, and indirection in an already untested and difficult code base. Work strategically, methodically, and communicate well as you say and it can be a real source of progress with an existing system.