How often should you refactor?

Question

I had a discussion a few weeks back with some co-workers on refactoring, and I seem to be in a minority that believes \"Refactor early, refactor often\" is a good approach t

Answer 1

"Refactor early, refactor often" is a productive guideline. Though that kind of assumes that you really know the code. The older a system gets, the more dangerous refactoring becomes, and the more deliberation is required. In some cases refactoring needs to be managed tasks, with effort level and time estimates, etc.