> See if a small block of lines around where you’re working can be extracted into its own little function [...] add a little test for the little function, and make your change, leaving the rest of the code alone.

To me this is the best compromise.

You can:

- change code without worrying about breakage

- ensure your new code is tested

- not have to worry about long LOE that comes with trying to scope in writing tests for the entire codebase