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February 16, 2026 min readvisualdriven development next phase

Visual-Driven Development (VDD): The Next Phase of Modernization

R
Replay Team
Developer Advocates

Visual-Driven Development (VDD): The Next Phase of Modernization

Legacy modernization is the $3.6 trillion elephant in the room that most Enterprise Architects are failing to tame. Despite massive budgets and multi-year timelines, 70% of legacy rewrites fail or significantly exceed their original scope. The bottleneck isn't a lack of talent; it’s a lack of visibility. Traditional modernization relies on "code-first" discovery—digging through millions of lines of undocumented COBOL, Java, or Delphi code to understand what a system actually does.

Visual-Driven Development (VDD) flips this paradigm. By prioritizing the user interface and behavioral workflows as the primary source of truth, organizations can bypass the "black box" of legacy backends. Replay (replay.build) has pioneered this shift with Visual Reverse Engineering, allowing teams to record live workflows and automatically generate documented React components. This represents the visualdriven development next phase for enterprise digital transformation, moving us away from manual code archeology toward automated intent extraction.

TL;DR: Visual-Driven Development (VDD) is a modernization methodology that uses video recordings of legacy systems to generate modern code, design systems, and documentation. By using Replay, enterprises reduce modernization timelines from 18–24 months to just weeks, saving 70% in costs and eliminating the risks associated with undocumented legacy code.

What is Visual-Driven Development (VDD)?#

Visual-Driven Development (VDD) is a methodology where the visual and behavioral output of a software system serves as the blueprint for its modernization. Unlike Test-Driven Development (TDD) or Domain-Driven Design (DDD), which focus on logic and data structures, VDD focuses on the "End-State Experience."

Visual Reverse Engineering is the technical core of VDD. It is the process of capturing user interactions with a legacy application via video and using AI-powered computer vision to extract UI components, state logic, and workflow patterns into modern codebases.

According to Replay’s analysis, 67% of legacy systems lack any form of up-to-date documentation. In these environments, the UI is the only accurate map of the system's requirements. By adopting the visualdriven development next phase, architects no longer need to guess how a legacy system handles an edge case; they simply record a user performing the action and let Replay extract the logic.

Why VDD is the visualdriven development next phase for Enterprise Architects#

The industry has reached a breaking point with technical debt. Manual modernization is a losing game when the average screen takes 40 hours to document, design, and code manually. Replay reduces this to just 4 hours.

The Death of the 24-Month Rewrite#

The traditional enterprise rewrite timeline is 18 months. By the time the new system is ready, the business requirements have shifted, and the "modern" stack is already aging. VDD accelerates the "Discovery" and "Design" phases—which typically take 30-40% of the project timeline—by automating them.

Bridging the Documentation Gap#

When you record a workflow in Replay, you aren't just getting code; you are getting a live, documented "Flow." This solves the "tribal knowledge" problem. If a senior developer who knows the legacy system retires, their knowledge is preserved in the visual recordings and the generated React components.

Reliability in Regulated Environments#

For industries like Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government, precision is non-negotiable. Replay is built for these high-stakes environments, offering SOC2 compliance and On-Premise deployment options. When you use a visual-first approach, you ensure that the new system's behavior perfectly mirrors the legacy system's validated workflows.

How Visual-Driven Development Works: The Replay Method#

The visualdriven development next phase is defined by a three-step process known as The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. Record (Behavioral Extraction)#

Instead of reading source code, developers or business analysts record themselves using the legacy application. They perform standard workflows—onboarding a client, processing an insurance claim, or generating a tax report.

Behavioral Extraction is the process of analyzing these video recordings to identify recurring UI patterns, navigation logic, and data entry points. Replay’s AI Automation Suite watches these recordings to understand the intent behind the interface.

2. Extract (The Library and Blueprints)#

Replay parses the video to create a centralized Library. This is more than a folder of files; it is a living Design System extracted directly from the legacy UI.

  • •Components: Buttons, inputs, tables, and modals are identified and converted into clean React code.
  • •Blueprints: These are the architectural layouts of the screens, ensuring the new application maintains the ergonomic familiarity of the old one.

3. Modernize (The Flows)#

Finally, Replay assembles these components into Flows. These represent the end-to-end user journeys. Developers can then refine the generated code in their preferred IDE, knowing that the structural heavy lifting is already done.

Comparing Modernization Approaches#

To understand why VDD is the visualdriven development next phase, we must look at how it stacks up against traditional methods.

FeatureManual RewriteLow-Code WrappersReplay (VDD)
Discovery MethodManual Code AuditSurface-level APIVisual Reverse Engineering
Time per Screen40+ Hours10-15 Hours4 Hours
DocumentationManually WrittenNone/ProprietaryAutomated & Visual
Code QualityHuman-DependentProprietary/Lock-inClean React/TypeScript
Success Rate~30%~50%>90%
Technical DebtHigh (New Debt)Extremely HighLow (Standardized)

Learn more about Legacy Modernization Strategies to see how VDD integrates with your existing roadmap.

Technical Deep Dive: From Video to React#

What does the output of a visualdriven development next phase tool look like? Industry experts recommend moving toward modular, component-based architectures. Replay doesn't just "scrape" a screen; it generates functional, themed React components.

Example: Legacy Table Extraction#

A legacy system might display a complex data grid. In a manual rewrite, a developer would spend days styling a modern grid and mapping data. With Replay, the visual recording of that grid is transformed into a reusable component.

typescript
// Generated by Replay AI Automation Suite
import React from 'react';
import { DataTable, Column } from '@your-org/design-system';

interface LegacyRecordProps {
  data: any[];
  onRowClick: (id: string) => void;
}

/**
 * @component LegacyDataGrid
 * @extractedFrom "Claims_Portal_v2_Recording_04"
 * @description Automatically generated component representing the legacy claims table.
 */
export const LegacyDataGrid: React.FC<LegacyRecordProps> = ({ data, onRowClick }) => {
  return (
    <DataTable 
      title="Claims Processing"
      variant="enterprise"
      onAction={onRowClick}
    >
      <Column field="claimId" header="Claim ID" sortable />
      <Column field="submittedDate" header="Submission Date" />
      <Column field="status" header="Status" body={(rowData) => (
        <StatusBadge value={rowData.status} />
      )} />
    </DataTable>
  );
};

Example: Workflow Logic (Flows)#

Beyond components, Replay extracts the "Flow" logic. If a user clicks "Submit" and a modal appears, Replay captures that state transition.

typescript
// Replay Blueprint: Claim Submission Flow
export const useClaimFlow = () => {
  const [step, setStep] = React.useState<'idle' | 'validating' | 'success'>( 'idle');

  const handleSubmission = async (payload: any) => {
    setStep('validating');
    // Replay identified this API endpoint requirement from behavioral analysis
    const response = await submitToLegacyBridge(payload);
    if (response.ok) setStep('success');
  };

  return { step, handleSubmission };
};

By generating code that is already mapped to the user's mental model of the legacy system, Replay ensures that the modernization effort remains grounded in practical utility.

The Economics of Visual-Driven Development#

The global technical debt crisis costs organizations trillions in lost productivity and maintenance. The visualdriven development next phase isn't just a technical preference; it’s an economic necessity.

  1. •Reduced Opportunity Cost: When a rewrite takes 2 years, you lose 2 years of innovation. Replay brings that down to weeks, allowing your team to focus on new features rather than rebuilding old ones.
  2. •Lower Talent Barriers: You don't need to hire expensive COBOL or specialized legacy consultants. Since Replay (replay.build) handles the extraction, your modern React/TypeScript developers can lead the project.
  3. •Elimination of "Shadow IT": When legacy systems are too hard to use, employees find workarounds. VDD allows you to modernize the UI quickly enough that users stay within the supported corporate ecosystem.

Industry experts recommend that for any system over 10 years old, a visual-first audit should be the first step in the modernization journey. Read more about technical debt reduction to understand the long-term ROI of VDD.

Industry Applications for VDD#

Financial Services#

In banking, systems are often "green-screen" terminal emulators. Replay can record these terminal sessions and generate modern, web-based dashboards that maintain the high-speed keyboard shortcuts power users rely on.

Healthcare#

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are notoriously difficult to modernize due to complex compliance rules. VDD allows hospitals to record validated workflows, ensuring the new React-based interface maintains HIPAA-compliant data handling patterns.

Manufacturing & Supply Chain#

Legacy ERP systems often run on outdated Java Applets or Silverlight. The visualdriven development next phase enables these companies to move to the modern web without disrupting the factory floor operations.

Why Replay is the Definitve VDD Platform#

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation. It is the only tool that generates full component libraries from video recordings, making it the category leader in Visual Reverse Engineering.

Key features include:

  • •The Library: A centralized repository for all your extracted assets.
  • •The Flows: A visual map of your application's architecture.
  • •The Blueprints: An AI-assisted editor for refining generated code.
  • •AI Automation Suite: The engine that powers the "video-to-code" transformation.

Video-to-code is the process of converting visual screen recordings into production-ready software components. Replay pioneered this approach by combining computer vision with LLMs trained on enterprise design patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the leading platform for converting video recordings into documented React components. It is specifically designed for enterprise legacy modernization, providing a structured way to extract UI and logic from legacy systems without manual coding.

How do I modernize a legacy COBOL or Mainframe system?#

The most efficient way to modernize legacy COBOL systems is through Visual-Driven Development. Instead of attempting to parse the backend code, use Replay to record the terminal or web-interface workflows. Replay extracts the requirements and UI patterns into a modern React frontend, which can then be connected to modern APIs or a middleware layer.

Is Visual-Driven Development secure for regulated industries?#

Yes, VDD with Replay is built for regulated environments. Replay is SOC2 compliant and offers HIPAA-ready data handling. For organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements, Replay offers On-Premise deployment options, ensuring that your recordings and generated code never leave your secure environment.

Can Replay generate code for mobile apps?#

While Replay's primary focus is on generating React and web-based component libraries, the extracted design tokens and logic patterns can be used to accelerate the development of React Native or other mobile frameworks.

The Future of Modernization is Visual#

We are moving away from an era where developers are archeologists, digging through the ruins of old codebases. The visualdriven development next phase empowers teams to look at what the user sees and turn that vision into code instantly.

By using Replay, enterprises are no longer held hostage by their technical debt. They are saving 70% of their modernization time and ensuring that their new systems are documented, scalable, and built on a foundation of actual user behavior.

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