statespecified

Statespecified, or state-specified, is a term used in systems engineering and software design to describe a discipline in which a system's state space and the rules governing state transitions are explicitly defined within a model or specification. The concept emphasizes that all states, initial conditions, and transitions are enumerated rather than inferred or implemented implicitly.

The idea aligns with formal methods and model-driven development, where a precise state specification enables formal verification, model checking, and rigorous testing. By naming states and transitions, designers can reason about reachability, invariants, and safety properties.

Common contexts include finite-state machines, state charts, and formal specification languages such as Z, VDM, or UML state diagrams. In hardware and software design, explicit state specification reduces nondeterminism and hidden behavior.

Characteristics often include an explicit state set, a defined initial state, transition relations with conditions and actions, and invariants that must hold in each state. Some approaches also require explicit state encoding for implementation.

Benefits of state specification include improved verifiability, easier debugging, and clearer documentation. Drawbacks can include increased modeling effort and the risk of state explosion in complex systems, where the number of states grows rapidly.

Because "statespecified" is not a universally standardized term, its meaning can vary by context. Related concepts include finite-state machines, formal specification, model checking, and state diagrams.