1. A computing device implemented method comprising: providing, using the computing device, a representation of a state machine including a plurality of states organized in a hierarchy, the plurality of states interconnected via one or more transitions; processing the state machine using multiple-stage processing, wherein: the multiple-stage processing includes a first processing stage and a second processing stage, the one or more transitions of the state machine include one or more first type transitions and one or more second type transitions, and the processing is performed using a computing device; processing valid first type transitions during the first processing stage, the first processing stage processing a first type transition irrespective of the hierarchy; and processing valid second type transitions during the second processing stage, the second processing stage processing the one or more second type transitions irrespective of the hierarchy.