Reverse Engineering as a Design Tool

What is Reverse Engineering?

Reverse engineering — also known as reverse engineering — is the process of dissecting an existing product, system, or application to understand how it works. This approach originated in the industrial world, where machines are analysed to reveal their structure, logic and functionality.
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In digital product development, we do not use reverse engineering to copy something, but rather to gather insights: how does something work technically, what choices have been made, and what can we learn from this for (re) designing a digital solution. It's a practical tool for getting to the core of what's really needed more quickly — before writing a single line of code.

Reverse Engineering as a Design Tool

Designing digital products is complex. You have to deal with wishes, technology, budgets and stakeholders. So how do you make sure you make the right choices from the start? Reverse engineering offers a surprising amount of guidance — both for companies with a new idea and for organizations with an existing digital product.

At Thesio, we use this approach with our UX and product development specialists. In this article, we show how reverse engineering works for two common situations: a new idea and an existing product.

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Route 1: You have an idea for a new product

Let's say you have a strong idea for a digital proposition. An app that solves a problem or opens up a new market. You want to know:

• Which technologies or frameworks are the best fit?
• What will it cost to build this?
• How do I validate my idea without building the entire product right away?

What Reverse Engineering does here

Reverse engineering helps you to literally visualize the end product - without it already being built. Together, we visualize what the application looks like, how users navigate, what data is needed, and what functionality is crucial.

Concrete benefits:

• The choice of technology becomes tangible: The design shows, for example, that your app contains a lot of client-side interaction. As a result, a framework such as Next.js or WhatIQ makes more sense than a traditional CMS.
• Faster insight into existing solutions: Maybe it turns out that your idea can easily be realized with tools like Shopify, Supabase or a combination thereof.
• Validation without building: You have a clickable prototype or interactive concept to test with users or investors - before a line of code is written.

At Thesio, we supervise this process from sketch to technical substantiation. We ensure that your idea does not get stuck in an abstract plan, but gets a clear roadmap.

Route 2: You have an existing product that needs to be modified

You already have an application. But you're running into limits. Outdated technology, unclear architecture, or internal discussions about what to do.

You're wondering:

• Should we continue to build on what is there?
• Or is it smarter to start over?
• How do we make this transparent to everyone involved?

What Reverse Engineering does here

We literally map the existing application: the screens, the functionality, the user flows, and the technical implications.

Concrete benefits:

• Everyone on the same wavelength: No more vague discussions about “the application”, but concrete images that everyone looks at.
• Better architecture decision making: You can see which parts of the app have become too complex and which parts are easy to rebuild.
• Creating support within the organization: By making the product visual, you create transparency and engagement. Stakeholders understand more quickly what is going on and what is being worked towards.

At Thesio, we use this method as part of a Discovery Journey, where UX and technical feasibility go hand in hand. This is how we help teams determine the right course more quickly.