On the effectiveness of slicing hierarchical state machines: a case study

Formal specifications can be hundreds of pages in length-a reflection of the size and complexity of the systems being specified. Lengthy documents are difficult to read understand, and use. Program slicing was developed to address these issues for programs. The authors apply similar techniques to formal specifications expressed as hierarchical state machines. They present a two tiered approach to slicing (or simplification) of hierarchical state machines. They have applied their techniques to a large case study and present empirical data highlighting the reduction and simplification capabilities of their approach to large specifications.