What process involves analyzing an existing system to create a similar one?

The correct answer is the process of reverse engineering. This process is primarily focused on taking an existing system, examining its components and functionality, and understanding how it operates. The ultimate goal is to create a similar or improved version of that system, which may involve replicating its features or discovering innovative enhancements based on what was learned from the original.

Reverse engineering is often used in software development when a company aims to understand a competitor's product or when documentation for legacy systems is poor or non-existent. It allows developers to dig into the design and architecture of an application, enabling them to build upon previous work while ensuring that they maintain functionality and potentially increase efficiency or usability.

In contrast, system integration relates to the process of combining various subsystems or components into a single coherent system and does not specifically focus on analyzing an existing system for replication. Prototyping involves creating preliminary versions of a system to test concepts and ideas rather than analyzing existing systems. Code refactoring, on the other hand, is about restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior, aiming to improve its readability and reduce complexity. None of these processes inherently involve the same level of analysis aimed at creating a similar system as reverse engineering does.