transition

Intent

Define the rules governing how a system's state changes over time. This capability captures state machine semantics: what triggers transitions, what preconditions must hold, and what effects occur.

Success criteria:

• Transition rules clearly specified
• Preconditions and effects documented
• Triggers identified with evidence
• State machine is deterministic (or non-determinism noted)

Compatible schemas:

• schemas/output_schema.yaml

Inputs

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
from_state	Yes	object	Initial state or state pattern
to_state	No	object	Target state (optional for discovery mode)
triggers	No	array	Events or conditions that cause transition
scope	No	string	Domain to analyze for transitions

Procedure

1. Identify state variables: Determine what can change

   • Extract mutable properties from state model
   • Identify discrete vs continuous variables
   • Note invariants (what cannot change)

2. Discover triggers: Find what causes state changes

   • Identify events (user actions, system events)
   • Find conditions (thresholds, timeouts)
   • Note external inputs that affect state

3. Define preconditions: Specify when transitions can occur

   • Document required state for transition
   • Identify guards and conditions
   • Note blocking conditions

4. Specify effects: Document what changes during transition

   • List state variable changes
   • Note side effects (events emitted, actions taken)
   • Capture ordering constraints

5. Validate completeness: Check for missing transitions

   • Identify unreachable states
   • Find states with no outgoing transitions
   • Note non-deterministic cases

6. Ground rules: Document evidence for each transition rule

   • Reference code, configuration, or documentation
   • Note confidence in each rule

Output Contract

Return a structured object:

rules:
  - id: string  # Unique rule identifier
    name: string  # Human-readable name
    from: object  # Source state pattern
    to: object  # Target state pattern
    trigger:
      type: string  # event, condition, timeout
      specification: any  # Trigger details
    preconditions: array[string]  # Required conditions
    effects: array[string]  # State changes
    priority: number  # Resolution priority for conflicts
analysis:
  reachability: object  # Which states are reachable
  completeness: number  # Coverage estimate
  non_determinism: array  # Ambiguous transitions
confidence: 0..1
evidence_anchors: ["file:line", "doc:section"]
assumptions: []