Statecharts were originally developed for the design of in-flight software for fighter aircraft.<p>Also of interest is David Harel's account of the history and development of Statecharts.[0]<p>[0] Statecharts in the Making: A Personal Account <a href="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~harel/papers/Statecharts.History.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~harel/papers/Statecharts.H...</a>