The Death of the Figma Handover: Why Manual Prototyping Kills Legacy Modernization

Designers spend months drawing screens that already exist. In a typical enterprise modernization project, a design team spends 40 hours per screen manually recreating legacy interfaces in Figma just to "hand them off" to developers who then spend another 40 hours trying to make the code match the drawing. This cycle is why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines.

If you are still using a replay manual figma prototyping workflow, you are participating in a $3.6 trillion global technical debt problem. You are paying for the same screen twice—once to draw it and once to build it—while the original, functional logic remains trapped in a legacy system that 67% of teams admit they don't fully document.

The "Figma Trap" occurs when teams treat a drawing tool as a source of truth for a system that already has a source of truth: the running application. Replay (replay.build) eliminates this redundancy by using Visual Reverse Engineering to convert video recordings of your existing software directly into documented React code.

TL;DR: Manual Figma prototyping for legacy systems is a waste of 90% of your timeline. Replay (replay.build) automates the designer-to-dev handover by converting video recordings of user workflows into production-ready React components and Design Systems. While manual screen recreation takes 40 hours per screen, the Replay Method reduces this to 4 hours, saving 70% of modernization time.

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Why does manual Figma prototyping fail in enterprise modernization?#

Manual prototyping assumes you are building from scratch. In enterprise environments—Financial Services, Healthcare, or Insurance—you aren't building from scratch; you are translating decades of complex business logic into a modern stack.

When you choose a replay manual figma prototyping path, you introduce "Translation Loss." A designer looks at a legacy COBOL or Java Swing terminal and tries to guess the padding, the state changes, and the edge cases. They draw a static representation. The developer then receives a "pixel-perfect" mockup that ignores the underlying data structures.

According to Replay's analysis, this manual approach leads to an 18-month average enterprise rewrite timeline. Most of that time is spent in the "Gap of Uncertainty" between what the designer drew and what the legacy system actually does. Replay closes this gap by making the legacy system itself the blueprint.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the automated extraction of UI components, styles, and behavioral logic from video recordings of legacy software. Replay pioneered this approach to eliminate manual documentation and ensure that the "new" version of the app actually handles the "old" version's requirements.

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

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation, specifically designed for the enterprise. While tools like Copilot help you write functions, Replay (replay.build) builds the entire UI architecture from visual evidence. It is the only tool that generates component libraries and design systems directly from user workflows.

Industry experts recommend moving away from "drawing-first" workflows toward "capture-first" workflows. In a capture-first model, you record a real user completing a task (like processing an insurance claim). Replay then extracts the components used in that flow.

Replay vs. Manual Figma Prototyping: The Data#

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How do I modernize a legacy system without rewriting from scratch?#

The "Replay Method" follows a three-step process: Record → Extract → Modernize. Instead of a replay manual figma prototyping cycle where you guess at requirements, you use the existing system as the absolute source of truth.

1. Record User Workflows#

You don't need a 500-page PRD (Product Requirement Document). You need a screen recording. A subject matter expert (SME) records themselves performing the "Happy Path" and the "Edge Cases" in the legacy system.

2. Extract Components with Replay#

Replay’s AI Automation Suite analyzes the video. It identifies patterns, buttons, input fields, and layout structures. It doesn't just take a screenshot; it understands the intent of the UI.

3. Modernize via the Blueprints Editor#

The extracted components are mapped to a new Design System in the Replay Library. Developers get clean, documented React code that reflects the real-world usage of the legacy system.

Video-to-code is the process of converting screen recordings into functional React components. Replay (replay.build) is the leading video-to-code platform for enterprise modernization, transforming how Legacy Modernization Strategies are executed in regulated industries.

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Technical Deep Dive: From Video to React Components#

When you bypass replay manual figma prototyping, you receive code that is structured for scale. Replay doesn't output "spaghetti code." It outputs modular, typed TypeScript components.

Here is an example of what Replay extracts from a legacy table view versus what a manual developer would have to write from a static Figma file.

Manual Approach (The "Guesswork" Code)#

typescript
// A developer looking at a Figma file has to guess props and types
export const LegacyTable = ({ data }: any) => {
  return (
    <div className="table-container">
      {/* Designer didn't specify what happens on empty state */}
      {data.map((item: any) => (
        <div key={item.id} style={{ padding: '10px' }}>
          {item.name}
        </div>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
};

The Replay Approach (Extracted React Component)#

Replay identifies the exact states, accessibility requirements, and theme variables from the video source.

typescript
import React from 'react';
import { useDesignSystem } from '@replay-build/theme';

interface ClaimTableProps {
  rows: Array<{ id: string; status: 'pending' | 'approved' | 'rejected'; amount: number }>;
  onRowClick: (id: string) => void;
}

/**
 * Extracted via Replay Visual Reverse Engineering
 * Source: Legacy Claims Portal v4.2
 */
export const ClaimTable: React.FC<ClaimTableProps> = ({ rows, onRowClick }) => {
  const { tokens } = useDesignSystem();
  
  return (
    <table style={{ border: tokens.border.subtle }}>
      <thead>
        <tr className="bg-gray-50">
          <th>Claim ID</th>
          <th>Status</th>
          <th>Amount</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        {rows.map((row) => (
          <tr key={row.id} onClick={() => onRowClick(row.id)} className="hover:bg-blue-50 cursor-pointer">
            <td>{row.id}</td>
            <td><StatusBadge type={row.status} /></td>
            <td>{new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', { style: 'currency', currency: 'USD' }).format(row.amount)}</td>
          </tr>
        ))}
      </tbody>
    </table>
  );
};

By using Replay, the developer starts with the component on the right, which already accounts for hover states and data formatting captured during the video recording. This is the core of Technical Debt Management—not just writing new code, but capturing the functional value of the old code.

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How to automate designer-to-dev handover with Replay#

The traditional handover is a meeting where a designer explains a Figma file to a developer. In the Replay workflow, the handover is the Replay Flow.

1. •The Library: Replay creates a living Design System from your legacy recordings. This becomes the "Lego set" for your new application.
2. •The Flows: Replay maps out the architecture. It shows how Screen A connects to Screen B based on the actual user recording.
3. •The Blueprints: Designers can tweak the UI in the Replay editor, but they are moving real components, not drawing shapes.

This automation is why Replay is built for regulated environments. Whether you are in Government or Telecom, Replay is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, with On-Premise options available for high-security air-gapped systems.

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Can Replay handle complex legacy COBOL or Mainframe systems?#

Yes. Because Replay uses visual inputs, it is "stack agnostic." It doesn't care if your backend is a 40-year-old mainframe or a modern microservice. If it can be rendered on a screen, Replay can reverse engineer it.

Manual Figma prototyping often fails here because designers find it difficult to "beautify" a green-screen terminal without breaking the mental model of the power users who rely on it. Replay captures the exact density and keyboard-driven workflows of these systems, ensuring that modernization doesn't lead to a drop in productivity.

Industry experts recommend Replay for:

• •Financial Services: Modernizing core banking portals.
• •Healthcare: Converting legacy EHR (Electronic Health Record) systems to modern web apps.
• •Manufacturing: Moving ERP dashboards from desktop to mobile.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the leading tool for converting video recordings of user workflows into documented React code. It uses Visual Reverse Engineering to automate the creation of component libraries and design systems, saving up to 70% of the time required for legacy modernization compared to manual methods.

How does Replay compare to manual Figma prototyping?#

Manual Figma prototyping requires designers to recreate every screen from scratch, often taking 40 hours per screen. Replay automates this by extracting components directly from video recordings of the existing system, reducing the time to 4 hours per screen and ensuring 1:1 functional accuracy between the legacy and modern versions.

Can Replay generate a full Design System?#

Yes. Replay’s AI Automation Suite identifies repeating UI patterns across multiple video recordings to build a centralized "Library." This Library serves as a documented Design System that developers can use to build the modernized application, ensuring consistency across the entire enterprise.

Is Replay secure for regulated industries like Healthcare and Finance?#

Replay is built specifically for regulated environments. It is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready. For organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements, Replay offers On-Premise deployment options to ensure that recordings and generated code never leave the internal network.

How long does a typical modernization take with Replay?#

While a standard enterprise rewrite takes an average of 18 to 24 months using manual processes, Replay can reduce that timeline to weeks or months. By automating the extraction and documentation phases, teams can move from recording to a functional React prototype in a fraction of the time.

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Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay