Simple State Machine
The Simple State Machine Pattern describes an entity (e.g. Block, Actor, Use Case or Test Case) from the point of view of the important states that it exhibits. When a state is entered an entry Action can be fired and while in the state a do action can be fired and upon leaving the state an exit action can be fired.

Figure 1. A state machine diagram showing three states and four transitions.
Discussion
To provide a mechanism to represent the conditions (States) a System Engineer or other Stakeholder thinks are important in the lifetime of a Block or other element. It describes the state dependent behavior showing how the element transitions from state to state and what Activities are invoked during the time the element is in that state.

The pattern is used when a System Engineer want to define or describe a set of discrete states a Block or other Element may exhibit. They are typically created to analyze the behavior of some part of the system often because it is difficult to understand or because its behavior is complex.

The following is a list of some things you may want to do when working with this pattern.
·	Change the name of the diagram and States to suit the initiative.
Change the name of the Triggers, Guards and Events defined for each Transition.
Change the name of the Entry, Do and Exit actions defined within each State.

The following is a list of some of the next steps available when applying the pattern.
·	Create an executable State Machine from the diagram.
Show how States in this State Machine interact with States in other State Machine constructed for other elements in the model.
Automatically create high quality documentation using the document generator.

Useful Workspace Layouts Core | Core Modeling, Wide View
Reference
The following help topics will assist you learn about how to work with this pattern.
State Machines
Working with Diagrams
Changing Element Appearance
Changing Diagram Layout

The following tools are useful when working with this pattern.
Specification View
The Specification View can be used as a way of working with the Components and Interfaces particularly when there are a large number of elements as is typically the case when describing a system of any appreciable size. For more details see the Specification View help topic
Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Diagrams
The Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Mode are display options available for any diagram that changes a system-drawn diagram to appear as though it was drawn by hand and, optionally, hand drawn on a whiteboard. It is a powerful device to engage an audience by presenting the diagram in a rough and more immediate style giving the impression that it is just a sketch that can be changed. For more details see the Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Mode help topic.
Alternate and Images for Diagram Elements
Most standard elements allow an alternate image to be defined for an element that will be used in place of the graphical notation for the element either on a selected diagram or as a default on all diagrams. For more details see the Using the Image Manager help topic.
Document Generator
The Document Generator is a powerful facility in Enterprise Architect that allows a Database Engineer or other stakeholder to create high quality corporate or technical documentation directly from the model, suitable for internal or external audiences. For more details see the Documentation help topic or the more general topic on Model Publishing.

© 2000 - 2018  Sparx Systems Pty Ltd.  All rights Reserved.