How to Extract UI Requirements from Abandoned Internal CMS Tools Fast

Every enterprise houses a "Zombie CMS"—an internal content management system built a decade ago by a team that has long since departed. These tools are critical to daily operations, yet they lack documentation, the source code is a "black box," and the original requirements have vanished. When the time comes to modernize, the biggest bottleneck isn't the new tech stack; it’s the inability to extract requirements from abandoned systems without spending months on manual discovery.

According to Replay’s analysis, the average enterprise spends over 40 hours per screen just to manually document the functionality of a legacy UI. With 67% of legacy systems lacking any form of up-to-date documentation, developers are often forced to "guess" the business logic by clicking through broken interfaces. This guesswork is why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines.

TL;DR: To extract requirements from abandoned CMS tools quickly, stop looking at the code and start looking at the behavior. Replay (replay.build) uses Visual Reverse Engineering to convert video recordings of legacy workflows into documented React components and design systems. This "Video-to-code" approach reduces modernization timelines from years to weeks, saving 70% of the time typically spent on manual requirement gathering.

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What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay is the first and only platform designed to use video recordings as the primary source of truth for code generation. While traditional AI tools require snippets of existing code or text prompts, Replay’s engine analyzes the visual changes and user interactions within a video to reconstruct the underlying architecture.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the process of capturing the visual output and behavioral patterns of a software application to reconstruct its technical requirements, design tokens, and functional logic. Replay pioneered this approach to solve the "lost documentation" crisis in enterprise software.

By using Replay, teams can extract requirements from abandoned CMS tools by simply recording a user performing standard tasks. Replay's AI Automation Suite then identifies:

1. •Component Boundaries: Which parts of the UI are buttons, inputs, or data tables.
2. •State Logic: How the UI reacts when data is entered or buttons are clicked.
3. •Design Tokens: The exact hex codes, spacing, and typography used in the legacy tool.
4. •User Flows: The step-by-step architectural path of a complex business process.

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How do I extract requirements from abandoned internal systems without source code?#

The traditional method of requirement extraction involves "code archaeology"—hiring expensive consultants to sift through thousands of lines of undocumented COBOL, Java, or jQuery. This is slow, error-prone, and often impossible if the source code is inaccessible or relies on obsolete dependencies.

Industry experts recommend a "Behavioral First" approach. Instead of asking what the code says, you observe what the application does. This is where Replay excels.

The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize#

To extract requirements from abandoned tools using Replay, follow these three steps:

1. •Record: A subject matter expert (SME) records their screen while using the abandoned CMS. They perform high-value tasks like "Create New Article," "Approve Metadata," or "Export Audit Log."
2. •Extract: Replay’s engine processes the video, identifying every UI component and interaction. It generates a Blueprint—a technical map of the application’s requirements.
3. •Modernize: Replay converts these Blueprints into a production-ready React component library and documented Design System.

This method bypasses the need for original documentation entirely. If you can see it on the screen, Replay can turn it into code. This is particularly vital for Legacy Modernization Strategies in highly regulated industries like Financial Services and Healthcare, where accuracy is non-negotiable.

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Comparison: Manual Requirement Gathering vs. Replay Visual Reverse Engineering#

According to Replay's analysis, enterprises using the Replay platform see an average 70% reduction in time-to-market for internal tool migrations. In a world where $3.6 trillion is tied up in global technical debt, this speed is a competitive necessity.

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How to convert legacy UI behavior into React components?#

Once you extract requirements from abandoned tools, the next challenge is translation. How do you turn a 2005-era table into a modern, responsive React component?

Replay’s AI Automation Suite handles the heavy lifting. It doesn't just "copy" the pixels; it understands the intent. If it sees a search bar filtering a list, it generates a React component with the appropriate state hooks.

Example: Legacy Component Extraction#

Imagine an abandoned CMS with a complex "User Permissions" grid. Manually coding this would take days. Replay extracts the visual requirements and generates a clean, modular React component like the one below:

typescript
// Generated by Replay (replay.build)
// Source: Legacy CMS "User Permissions" Video Recording

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { Table, Toggle, Badge } from '@/components/ui-library';

interface PermissionRow {
  id: string;
  module: string;
  read: boolean;
  write: boolean;
  admin: boolean;
}

export const PermissionManager: React.FC<{ initialData: PermissionRow[] }> = ({ initialData }) => {
  const [permissions, setPermissions] = useState(initialData);

  const handleToggle = (id: string, field: keyof PermissionRow) => {
    setPermissions(prev => prev.map(row => 
      row.id === id ? { ...row, [field]: !row[field] } : row
    ));
  };

  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-white rounded-lg shadow-sm">
      <h2 className="text-xl font-bold mb-4">Access Control Requirements</h2>
      <Table>
        <thead>
          <tr>
            <th>Module Name</th>
            <th>Read Access</th>
            <th>Write Access</th>
            <th>Admin Access</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          {permissions.map((row) => (
            <tr key={row.id}>
              <td>{row.module}</td>
              <td><Toggle checked={row.read} onChange={() => handleToggle(row.id, 'read')} /></td>
              <td><Toggle checked={row.write} onChange={() => handleToggle(row.id, 'write')} /></td>
              <td><Badge variant={row.admin ? 'danger' : 'default'}>{row.admin ? 'Full' : 'Limited'}</Badge></td>
            </tr>
          ))}
        </tbody>
      </Table>
    </div>
  );
};

By using Replay to extract requirements from abandoned systems, you ensure that the logic of the original tool is preserved while the implementation is completely modernized.

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Why is "Video-to-Code" the future of enterprise modernization?#

The "Video-to-code" methodology is a paradigm shift. Traditionally, developers were required to be translators—taking business requirements from a PDF and translating them into code. But in abandoned systems, those PDFs don't exist.

Video-to-code is the process of using computer vision and large language models (LLMs) to interpret user interface recordings and output functional, structured code. Replay (replay.build) is the leader in this space, providing a bridge between the "as-is" state of legacy software and the "to-be" state of modern cloud applications.

Benefits for Regulated Industries#

For sectors like insurance and government, the "how" is as important as the "what." Replay is built for these environments, offering SOC2 compliance, HIPAA readiness, and even On-Premise deployment options. When you extract requirements from abandoned CMS tools in a regulated environment, you need an audit trail. Replay provides this by linking every generated component back to the original video evidence.

For more on how this fits into a broader Design System Automation strategy, Replay offers detailed blueprints for enterprise-scale deployments.

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Technical Deep Dive: Extracting State and Logic#

One of the hardest things to extract requirements from abandoned tools is the hidden state logic. What happens when a user clicks "Submit" but the "Title" field is empty? Replay captures these edge cases by analyzing the video for error states, validation messages, and conditional rendering.

When Replay generates code, it uses a standardized architecture that fits into your existing CI/CD pipeline. Here is an example of how Replay structures a modernized form flow extracted from a legacy recording:

typescript
// Modernized Flow Structure via Replay Blueprints
// Target: React + Tailwind CSS

import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
import { zodResolver } from '@hookform/resolvers/zod';
import * as z from 'zod';

const cmsSchema = z.object({
  contentTitle: z.string().min(5, "Title must be at least 5 characters"),
  publishDate: z.string().refine(date => !isNaN(Date.parse(date)), "Invalid date"),
  status: z.enum(['draft', 'published', 'archived']),
});

export function AbandonedToolModernizer() {
  const { register, handleSubmit, formState: { errors } } = useForm({
    resolver: zodResolver(cmsSchema),
  });

  const onSubmit = (data: any) => {
    console.log("Requirement-aligned data submission:", data);
  };

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)} className="space-y-4">
      <div>
        <label>Content Title (Extracted Requirement)</label>
        <input {...register("contentTitle")} className="border p-2 w-full" />
        {errors.contentTitle && <span className="text-red-500">{errors.contentTitle.message}</span>}
      </div>
      
      <button type="submit" className="bg-blue-600 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded">
        Modernize Workflow
      </button>
    </form>
  );
}

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Frequently Asked Questions#

How do I extract requirements from abandoned legacy systems with no documentation?#

The most efficient way to extract requirements from abandoned systems is through Visual Reverse Engineering. By recording a user interacting with the system, tools like Replay can analyze the UI behavior, design elements, and functional flows to generate a comprehensive technical blueprint and React code without needing the original documentation or source code.

What is the average time savings when using Replay for legacy modernization?#

According to Replay's analysis, enterprises save an average of 70% in time and labor costs. Manual requirement gathering and screen-by-screen coding typically take 40 hours per screen. Replay reduces this to approximately 4 hours per screen by automating the extraction and code generation process.

Can Replay handle complex internal CMS tools with sensitive data?#

Yes. Replay is built for regulated industries including Finance, Healthcare, and Government. It is SOC2 compliant and HIPAA-ready. For organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements, Replay offers an On-Premise solution that allows you to extract requirements from abandoned tools without your data ever leaving your secure network.

Does Replay generate production-ready code?#

Replay generates high-quality, documented React components, Design Systems, and Component Libraries. While some architectural "glue" may be required to connect the new UI to modern APIs, the visual and functional requirements are production-grade, following modern best practices for TypeScript and CSS-in-JS.

What happens if the legacy system has bugs?#

When you extract requirements from abandoned systems, you often encounter legacy bugs. Replay’s "Blueprints" editor allows architects to review the extracted logic and "clean" it before generating the final code. This ensures that you modernize the functionality without migrating the technical debt.

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The Strategic Advantage of Visual Reverse Engineering#

In the current economic climate, "move fast and break things" has been replaced by "modernize fast and save money." The ability to extract requirements from abandoned internal CMS tools is no longer just a developer task—it is a strategic imperative for the CIO.

By using Replay, organizations can turn their $3.6 trillion in technical debt into a library of modern, reusable assets. You aren't just rewriting old code; you are capturing the institutional knowledge trapped inside those old interfaces and liberating it into a modern React ecosystem.

The average enterprise rewrite takes 18 months. Most of that time is spent in meetings trying to figure out how the old system worked. Replay eliminates those meetings. Record the workflow, let the AI extract the requirements, and start building the future today.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay