Workflow Reliability term
Transition table: meaning, examples, and AI prompt use.
Makes every allowed and blocked movement between states explicit.
What it means
Plain meaning
state transition matrix: Makes every allowed and blocked movement between states explicit.
Aliases
state transition matrix, allowed transitions
People say / experts say
People usually say
- unclear transitions
- step change
- valid move
- invalid move
- robust state
- between steps
Experts usually say
Transition table, Statechart, Invariant, Guard condition
When to use it
Use it when
Your rough ask sounds like: unclear transitions, step change, valid move. The term gives your coding agent a clearer problem shape.
When not to use it
Do not use this term as a request for a quick screen fix. Use it when the system needs explicit state, rules, failures, or recovery behavior.
Copy-ready handoff phrase
Before and after
Weak ask
Fix this unclear transitions flow.
Exact Terms ask
Create a transition table that lists every current state, event, next state, and rejected event.
Prompt templates by use case
Architecture prompt
Audit this workflow for Transition table and related concerns: Statechart, Invariant, Guard condition. Return states, rules, failure modes, and recovery behavior before code.
Implementation prompt
Implement Transition table for this app flow. Include data ownership, edge cases, fallback behavior, and acceptance tests.
Test prompt
Create tests that prove Transition table works across refresh, retry, back/next movement, partial failure, and return visits.
Common mistake
What goes wrong
Asking for code before defining states, transitions, persistence, and failure behavior.
Better move
Use Transition table with the related vocabulary trail: Statechart, Invariant, Guard condition.