WeexplainthemainingredientsoftheAbstractStateMachines(ASM)methodforhigh-levelsystemdesignandanalysisandsurveysomeofitsapplicationhighlightsinindustrialsoftware-basedsystemengineering.Weillustratethemethodbydefiningmodelsforthreesimplecontrolsystems(sluicegate,trafficlight,packagerouter)