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Recognizing States and Events

Noticing state transitions and the events that trigger them is easier said than done. Sometimes the states are subtle and fleeting, triggered by the passage of time or by an event you cannot control directly. Such states are especially important to identify because they are usually the most interesting to explore, yet their transitory nature makes them difficult to see. Similarly, noticing all the conditions that trigger a shift in states requires careful attention to detail. In this section you’ll find a handy guide to identifying even hard-to-spot states and events.

States Are Behavioral Modes

My friend Alan A. Jorgensen uses three simple questions to detect states:

• Are there things I could do now that I could ...