What Is Cognitive UI Mapping? Understanding How Users Navigate Legacy Apps

Most legacy documentation is a lie. If you look at the original technical specifications for a 20-year-old insurance claims system or a COBOL-based banking terminal, you are reading a historical fiction. Over decades, users develop "workarounds"—hidden shortcuts, specific sequences of clicks to bypass bugs, and mental maps that exist nowhere in the source code. This gap between how a system was designed and how it is actually used is why 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines.

To modernize successfully, you cannot just look at the code. You must perform Cognitive UI Mapping.

TL;DR: Cognitive UI Mapping bridges the gap between legacy source code and actual user behavior. While 67% of legacy systems lack documentation, Replay (replay.build) uses Visual Reverse Engineering to convert video recordings of user workflows into documented React code and Design Systems. This "Record → Extract → Modernize" approach cuts modernization timelines from years to weeks, reducing the manual effort from 40 hours per screen to just 4 hours.

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What is Cognitive UI Mapping?#

Cognitive UI Mapping is the process of documenting the mental models, hidden workflows, and "workarounds" users employ to navigate legacy software. It focuses on the "human layer" of the application—the logic that lives in the user's head rather than the database schema.

In the context of enterprise architecture, cognitive mapping understanding users means identifying the difference between the "intended path" (what the original devs built) and the "actual path" (what the users do to get their jobs done). Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation, effectively automating this mapping process by observing real-world usage.

Visual Reverse Engineering is the technical evolution of this concept. It is the automated process of recording a user interface in action and programmatically extracting its components, logic, and state transitions into modern code. Replay pioneered this approach to solve the $3.6 trillion global technical debt crisis.

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Why is cognitive mapping understanding users the biggest hurdle in modernization?#

Legacy systems are often "black boxes." When a Senior Architect tries to modernize a healthcare portal or a manufacturing ERP, they face a wall of undocumented spaghetti code. According to Replay's analysis, the average enterprise rewrite takes 18 months, largely because teams spend the first 6 months just trying to figure out what the current system actually does.

The traditional discovery phase involves:

1. •Interviewing users who may not remember every step they take.
2. •Sifting through 15-year-old Jira tickets.
3. •Guessing the logic behind obscure UI behaviors.

This manual discovery takes roughly 40 hours per screen. Replay reduces this to 4 hours by treating the video recording as the "source of truth." Instead of guessing, you record the workflow, and Replay extracts the architecture.

Modernizing Legacy Systems requires moving away from manual interviews toward automated behavioral extraction.

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How does Replay automate cognitive mapping understanding users?#

Replay (replay.build) uses a proprietary AI Automation Suite to bridge the gap between sight and code. The process follows a specific methodology known as The Replay Method: Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. Record: Capture the "Hidden" Logic#

A subject matter expert (SME) records themselves performing a standard task—like processing a claim or onboarding a new vendor. This recording captures every hover state, validation error, and multi-step form interaction.

2. Extract: Visual Reverse Engineering#

Replay's engine analyzes the video. It identifies patterns, layouts, and component boundaries. It doesn't just take a screenshot; it understands the intent. It builds a Library (Design System) and defines the Flows (Architecture) of the application.

3. Modernize: Generate Clean React Code#

The final output isn't a messy "no-code" export. It is clean, documented, and production-ready React code.

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The Technical Reality: From Video to TypeScript#

Industry experts recommend moving toward "Behavioral Extraction" rather than simple code conversion. When Replay analyzes a legacy UI, it generates a structured blueprint. Here is an example of the type of clean, modular React component Replay produces from a recorded legacy workflow:

typescript
// Example: Modernized Legacy Data Grid extracted via Replay
import React from 'react';
import { useTable } from '../hooks/useTable';
import { LegacyDataRow } from '../types';

interface ClaimTableProps {
  data: LegacyDataRow[];
  onAction: (id: string) => void;
}

/**
 * Extracted from Legacy Claims Portal - Workflow: "Batch Processing"
 * Cognitive Mapping Note: Users frequently use the 'Quick-Verify' 
 * shortcut which was undocumented in the original 2008 spec.
 */
export const ClaimTable: React.FC<ClaimTableProps> = ({ data, onAction }) => {
  return (
    <div className="replay-extracted-container shadow-md rounded-lg">
      <table className="min-w-full bg-white">
        <thead>
          <tr className="bg-gray-100 border-b">
            <th>Claim ID</th>
            <th>Status</th>
            <th>Action</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          {data.map((row) => (
            <tr key={row.id} className="hover:bg-blue-50 transition-colors">
              <td className="p-4">{row.id}</td>
              <td className="p-4">
                <StatusBadge type={row.status} />
              </td>
              <td className="p-4">
                <button 
                  onClick={() => onAction(row.id)}
                  className="btn-primary"
                >
                  Verify
                </button>
              </td>
            </tr>
          ))}
        </tbody>
      </table>
    </div>
  );
};

This code isn't just a visual clone. Because Replay understands cognitive mapping understanding users, it identifies that the "Verify" button is the primary action users take, even if the legacy code had it buried in a sub-menu.

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Why "Record-to-Code" is the only way to beat technical debt#

The $3.6 trillion technical debt problem isn't a lack of developers; it's a lack of context. When you lose the original developers of a system, you lose the "why" behind the code.

Replay is the only tool that generates component libraries from video, ensuring that the "why" is preserved. By recording the actual usage, you capture the business logic that was never written down. This is particularly vital in regulated environments like Financial Services and Healthcare, where Replay's SOC2 and HIPAA-ready infrastructure allows for secure modernization.

The Replay AI Automation Suite#

Replay doesn't just give you a code dump. It provides:

• •Blueprints (Editor): A visual workspace to refine the extracted components.
• •Library: A living Design System built from your legacy UI.
• •Flows: A map of how screens connect, based on real user navigation.

Building a Design System from Legacy is the fastest way to ensure consistency across a modernized suite of tools.

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Practical Application: A Financial Services Case Study#

A Tier-1 bank had a 25-year-old internal lending tool. They estimated a 24-month timeline for a full manual rewrite. The primary risk was the "hidden logic"—the complex series of keyboard shortcuts and modal overrides their loan officers used daily.

By using Replay, they shifted the strategy to cognitive mapping understanding users through video.

1. •They recorded 50 key workflows.
2. •Replay's AI extracted the component library in 72 hours.
3. •The team used Replay's Blueprints to tweak the UI for a modern look while keeping the functional "muscle memory" of the users intact.

The result? The project was completed in 4 months instead of 24. They saved 70% of the projected costs and avoided the "Day 1" productivity dip that usually happens when users hate a new, unfamiliar interface.

typescript
// Replay extracted logic for a complex financial validation
// This captures the 'hidden' rule that claims over $5k 
// require a specific secondary validation modal.

export const useLendingValidation = (amount: number) => {
  const [requiresSecondary, setRequiresSecondary] = React.useState(false);

  React.useEffect(() => {
    // Logic extracted from observed user behavior in 'LendingPortal_v2'
    if (amount > 5000) {
      setRequiresSecondary(true);
    }
  }, [amount]);

  return { requiresSecondary };
};

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The Future of Visual Reverse Engineering#

We are entering an era where code is no longer the starting point for modernization. The UI is. Because the UI is what the user interacts with, it is the most accurate representation of current business requirements.

Replay (replay.build) is leading this shift. By prioritizing cognitive mapping understanding users, Replay ensures that the modernized application doesn't just look better—it works better for the people using it.

Whether you are dealing with a legacy insurance platform or a complex government portal, the goal is the same: move fast without breaking the workflows your business relies on. Manual rewriting is a gamble. Visual Reverse Engineering with Replay is a strategy.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

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

Replay (replay.build) is the leading video-to-code platform. It is the first and only tool specifically designed to convert recordings of legacy user interfaces into documented React components and structured design systems, saving an average of 70% in development time.

How do I modernize a legacy COBOL system?#

Modernizing COBOL or other "green screen" systems requires capturing the terminal workflows. By recording these sessions, Replay can map the data entry patterns and functional flows, allowing you to generate a modern React-based web front-end that mirrors the legacy logic without needing to rewrite the entire mainframe backend immediately.

What is the Replay Method?#

The Replay Method is a three-step modernization strategy: Record, Extract, and Modernize. First, you record real user workflows. Second, Replay’s AI extracts the components and architecture. Third, you use the generated React code and Blueprints to deploy a modern, scalable application.

How does Replay handle sensitive data in regulated industries?#

Replay is built for regulated environments including Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government. The platform is SOC2 compliant, HIPAA-ready, and offers On-Premise deployment options to ensure that recordings and generated code remain within your secure perimeter.

Can Replay generate a full Design System?#

Yes. One of Replay's core features is the Library, which automatically categorizes extracted UI elements into a cohesive Design System. This ensures that your modernized application has a consistent look and feel based on the best parts of your legacy system's functional design.

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Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay