reverse engineer

Verb

reverse-engineer (third-person singular simple present reverse-engineers, present participle reverse-engineering, simple past and past participle reverse-engineered)

1. To derive or duplicate the design, technical specifications, manufacturing methods, or functionality of an object by studying an existing product, prototype, etc.
   • Each creature was viewed as the artifact of a divine blueprint. The role of the biologist was to reverse engineer God's handiwork.1997, Roy A. Sorensen, "The Metaphysics of Precision and Scientific Language," Noûs, vol. 31, Supplement: Philosophical Perspectives, 11, p. 363

   Synonyms:

   hack

2. To create or modify an implementation to better conform to a desired goal.
   • Typically, you complete some design, some implementation, some testing, come up with some good ideas which you implement, and then reverse-engineer your implementation into an improved design.2003, Per Kroll, Philippe Kruchten, The Rational Unified Process Made Easy, →ISBN

See all 3 meanings of reverse-engineer