If no step-sequence is to be executed at all, the system will transition into the Exit state directly from the Entry state and perform the actual task of the superior state. After the task is finished, the superior state will transition to whatever is its target state, thus de-activating the SubStateMachine.

When a step sequence is being executed and the system decides in the Step state that there are no more steps to execute in the step sequence, it fires a LeaveStepSequence event, transitions to the Exit state and proceeds as in the case without a step sequence.

How the work of the superior state and of the steps of the sequence is distributed between the states of the step model is application-specific.