Visual Requirements Gathering for Complex ERP Modules: Cutting 500 Hours of Interviews

The average ERP modernization project dies in a conference room long before a single line of code is written. It dies during the "discovery phase," a grueling 6-to-12 month period where high-priced consultants interview subject matter experts (SMEs) who have forgotten more about their legacy workflows than most developers will ever know. When you are dealing with a 20-year-old SAP instance or a bespoke Oracle Forms environment, the "truth" of how the system works isn't in the documentation—because 67% of legacy systems lack documentation entirely. It’s buried in the muscle memory of users who perform complex workarounds that no one ever wrote down.

Traditional requirements gathering relies on human memory, which is notoriously fallible. For a single complex ERP module—like multi-currency accounts payable or global supply chain logistics—enterprise teams often spend upwards of 500 hours in interviews, workshops, and "shadowing" sessions. This is not just inefficient; it’s a primary reason why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline.

To break this cycle, architects are turning to visual requirements gathering complex workflows that use record-and-capture technology to bypass the interview phase entirely. By using Replay, organizations can convert actual user sessions into documented technical requirements and functional code in a fraction of the time.

TL;DR: Manual requirements gathering for ERPs is a $3.6 trillion technical debt trap. By shifting to a visual requirements gathering complex methodology—specifically using Replay’s Visual Reverse Engineering—enterprises can reduce discovery time by 90%, cutting 500+ hours of interviews down to a few days of recording. This process generates documented React components and design systems directly from legacy UI interactions, ensuring 100% accuracy in workflow replication.

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The Crisis of Tribal Knowledge in Legacy ERPs#

Industry experts recommend that for every hour of development, at least two hours should be spent in discovery and design. In the world of complex ERPs, this ratio often balloons. Why? Because these systems are "organic." Over decades, they have been patched, extended, and integrated with third-party tools in ways the original architects never intended.

According to Replay's analysis of Fortune 500 modernization efforts, the "Requirement Gap"—the difference between what an SME says they do and what they actually do—is typically 30-40%.

Video-to-code is the process of capturing these nuanced user behaviors through screen recordings and automatically translating the visual elements, state changes, and data flows into modern code structures.

When you rely on interviews, you miss:

1. •The "Alt-Tab" Workflows: Users often jump to Excel or a second legacy app to complete a calculation.
2. •Validation Edge Cases: The "if-then" logic that only triggers on the third Tuesday of a fiscal quarter.
3. •Hidden State: UI elements that appear or disappear based on undocumented database flags.

Replay captures these nuances by recording the session and using AI to parse the DOM, CSS, and interaction patterns. Instead of asking a user "What happens when you click this?", you simply watch what happened and let the platform generate the Blueprints.

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Why Visual Requirements Gathering for Complex Systems Beats Traditional Interviews#

The shift toward visual requirements gathering complex systems is driven by the need for speed. The 18-month average enterprise rewrite timeline is no longer acceptable in a market where competitors can deploy new features in weeks.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the practice of using visual data (recordings, screenshots, and UI metadata) to reconstruct the underlying software architecture, component hierarchy, and business logic of a legacy system.

Comparison: Manual vs. Visual Discovery#

By using Replay, teams move from "tell me what you do" to "show me what you did." This eliminates the "lost in translation" effect between business analysts and developers.

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Mapping Complex ERP Logic to Modern Architectures#

When you perform visual requirements gathering complex tasks, you aren't just looking at buttons; you are looking at state transitions. A complex ERP form might have 150 input fields, 20 of which are conditional.

In a traditional interview, an SME might say: "If the vendor is international, the tax field changes." In Replay, the "Flows" feature tracks the exact state mutation. It sees the

event, the subsequent API call (or legacy trigger), and the re-rendering of the UI.

From Legacy "Spaghetti" to Clean TypeScript#

Consider a legacy ERP component written in an old version of AngularJS or even rendered server-side in JSP. The logic is often tightly coupled with the view. Replay’s AI Automation Suite identifies these patterns and suggests a modern, decoupled React structure.

Example: Legacy Logic vs. Replay Generated Component

Below is a representation of how a complex, multi-state ERP table is often documented manually (vague) versus how Replay generates the functional requirement in TypeScript.

typescript
// Replay Generated Blueprint for ERP Data Grid
// Goal: Modernize the "Vendor Reconciliation" module

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { DataTable, Button, Tag } from '@/components/ui-library';

interface VendorRecord {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  status: 'pending' | 'verified' | 'flagged';
  balance: number;
  currency: string;
}

/**
 * @workflow Captured from Session_ID_9928
 * @logic If balance > 10,000 AND currency === 'USD', trigger 'High Priority' flag
 */
export const VendorReconciliation: React.FC = () => {
  const [data, setData] = useState<VendorRecord[]>([]);
  
  const handleVerify = (id: string) => {
    // Logic captured via Replay Flows: 
    // Triggers POST to /api/v1/reconcile with checksum
    console.log(`Verifying vendor: ${id}`);
  };

  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-slate-50 border rounded-xl">
      <h2 className="text-xl font-bold mb-4">Vendor Reconciliation</h2>
      <DataTable 
        data={data}
        columns={[
          { header: 'Vendor Name', accessor: 'name' },
          { 
            header: 'Status', 
            render: (row) => (
              <Tag color={row.status === 'flagged' ? 'red' : 'green'}>
                {row.status.toUpperCase()}
              </Tag>
            )
          },
          { 
            header: 'Actions', 
            render: (row) => (
              <Button onClick={() => handleVerify(row.id)}>Verify</Button>
            )
          }
        ]}
      />
    </div>
  );
};

This code isn't just a "guess." It is based on the Design System extracted directly from the recording. Replay identifies that "Blue Button #0044CC" is a primary action across 50 different screens and standardizes it into a reusable component.

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The "Flows" Feature: Documenting Complex Business Logic#

One of the hardest parts of visual requirements gathering complex modules is documenting the "Flow." An ERP is rarely a single page; it’s a sequence of events.

According to Replay’s Architectural Guide, a "Flow" is a sequence of screen states linked by user interactions. When you record a workflow in Replay, the platform automatically generates a visual map of the application architecture.

1. •Screen A: Invoice Entry
2. •Interaction: User clicks "Submit"
3. •Validation: System checks for duplicate PO numbers
4. •Screen B: Approval Routing

In a manual interview, documenting this would take hours of whiteboarding. Replay builds this map automatically. If the user encounters an error, Replay captures the error state, the console logs (if applicable), and the visual feedback given to the user. This is the difference between a requirement that says "System should handle errors" and a requirement that provides the exact code for the error modal.

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Reducing the $3.6 Trillion Technical Debt Burden#

The global technical debt crisis is fueled by the "fear of the unknown." Architects are afraid to touch legacy ERPs because they don't know what will break. This fear leads to "wrapping" legacy systems in modern APIs, which only adds to the complexity.

Replay allows for a "Clean Slate" modernization. Instead of wrapping the old mess, you extract the essence of the UI and the logic. This reduces the 40 hours average per screen (manual) to just 4 hours with Replay.

A Modern Component Library from Legacy UI#

When you use the Replay Library, you are essentially building an "Atomic Design System" on the fly. As you record different parts of the ERP, Replay identifies repeating patterns:

• •Headers and Footers
• •Data Input Groups
• •Navigation Sidebars
• •Modal Patterns

Instead of a developer writing CSS from scratch, they pull from the Replay-generated library.

tsx
// Replay-Generated Design System Component
// Standardized from 15 different legacy screen recordings

import styled from 'styled-components';

export const LegacyInput = styled.input`
  border: 1px solid #d1d5db;
  padding: 0.5rem 0.75rem;
  border-radius: 0.375rem;
  font-size: 0.875rem;
  line-height: 1.25rem;
  width: 100%;
  
  &:focus {
    outline: 2px solid #2563eb;
    border-color: transparent;
  }

  /* Captured behavior: ERP inputs turn yellow when modified but not saved */
  &.is-dirty {
    background-color: #fef9c3;
  }
`;

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Visual Requirements Gathering Complex: Security and Compliance#

For industries like Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government, recording user sessions raises immediate red flags regarding PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and security.

Replay was built for these regulated environments. The platform is SOC2 and HIPAA-ready, and for highly sensitive environments, it offers an On-Premise deployment model. During the visual requirements gathering complex process, sensitive data can be masked or anonymized before it ever hits the Replay AI engine.

This allows organizations to modernize their most sensitive modules—like patient records or tax processing—without violating data sovereignty laws.

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Implementing Replay in Your Modernization Strategy#

To successfully cut 500 hours of interviews, follow this phased approach using Replay:

Phase 1: The Recording Sprint (Days 1-5)#

Instead of scheduling meetings, ask your top 5 SMEs to record their most common workflows using the Replay recorder. They simply go about their daily tasks. Replay captures the DOM, the state, and the visual layout.

Phase 2: AI Synthesis (Days 6-8)#

Replay’s AI Automation Suite processes the recordings. It identifies common components and maps out the application "Flows." You now have a visual architecture of the legacy module.

Phase 3: Blueprint Review (Days 9-12)#

Architects review the Blueprints. These aren't just pictures; they are interactive React components. The team can tweak the generated code, adjust the design system, and verify that the business logic was captured correctly.

Phase 4: Development Kickoff (Day 13+)#

Developers start with a 70% completed codebase. They aren't starting with a blank

; they are starting with a documented, componentized version of the legacy system.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

How does visual requirements gathering handle hidden business logic?#

While Replay captures the UI and frontend state, it also monitors the interactions between the UI and backend APIs. By observing the data payloads sent and received during a session, Replay can infer business rules. For example, if a "Submit" button only enables when three specific fields are filled, Replay identifies that conditional logic and includes it in the generated React component.

Can Replay work with "Green Screen" or Terminal-based ERPs?#

Yes. Replay’s Visual Reverse Engineering is not limited to modern web apps. It can process legacy web wrappers, Citrix-delivered applications, and older Java-based UIs. As long as the interface can be recorded, Replay’s AI can analyze the visual patterns to suggest a modern web-based equivalent.

What is the learning curve for my SMEs?#

The learning curve is virtually zero. SMEs do not need to learn a new tool or write any documentation. They simply click "Record" on the Replay browser extension or desktop agent and perform their job. This is why Replay is so effective at capturing "tribal knowledge"—it doesn't require the SME to explain what they do; it just requires them to do it.

How does this integrate with my existing Jira/Azure DevOps workflow?#

Replay is designed to fit into the modern SDLC. The requirements, components, and "Flows" generated by Replay can be exported or linked directly to your project management tools. Instead of a Jira ticket saying "Fix the login page," the ticket includes a link to the Replay Blueprint, the generated React code, and the video recording of the original workflow.

Is the code generated by Replay "production-ready"?#

Replay provides a "70% head start." It generates high-quality, documented React components and a consistent Design System. While the frontend is often 90-100% complete, developers will still need to hook up the modern backend APIs and perform final integration testing. This is how Replay achieves the 70% average time savings compared to manual rewrites.

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Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay