Reverse Engineering is the systematic process of deconstructing an existing manufactured product—be it software, hardware, or a mechanical component—to understand its design, structure, and internal operation.
This process essentially works backwards, moving from the finished physical product to its original design documentation and specifications (e.g., creating a 3D CAD model from a physical part).
Reverse engineering is a critical skill for industrial maintenance and innovation: legacy system modernization, ensuring interoperability between components from different manufacturers, forensic analysis to understand failures, and speeding up product development by analyzing competitor designs.