There are two ways to think about things that are built.

One way is to ask: how was this built?
You look at the finished thing. You try to see how it works. How it is put together. Which parts and mechanisms it uses.
Often you start from the end and work backwards. You guess how it was made. You try to “reverse” it in your head.
This way of thinking is common. It is useful when you want to learn from a real thing. Or when you want to copy it. Or fix it.

The other way is to ask: how could I build something like this?
Here you do not care about building the exact same thing. You do not need to use the same steps or tools.
You look at what the thing does. What it achieves. What problem it solves.
Then you ask: how can I build something that does the same job?
How can I build my own version that reaches the same goal?
You think about your skills, your tools, your limits. You design your own way to reach the same result.

Both ways to think are useful. But often people use mostly the first one.
They focus hard on the actual thing in front of them. On the real app, the device, the system.
They try to learn every detail of how that one was built.
Then they try to follow the same path.

You can instead start from the goal.
Say you see a complex tool. You can ask how it was built. Look at the code. The parts. The design choices.
Or you can ask: what does this tool really do?
Maybe for you, a simpler tool that does most of the same job is enough.
You do not need the same structure. You just need the same effect.

A good way to work is to use both views.
First, understand how something is built, so you learn from it.
Then, switch and ask: given what I want to achieve, and what I have, how could I build something like this myself?

If you remember these two questions, you get more options:
You can learn from real things.
And you can still build your own way to reach the same outcome.