Abstract: A software architecture and design method for embedded computing system applications in which tasks consist of a common data structure (FIGS. 1, 2) and are encoded as a finite state machines (FIG. 5). An executive (FIGS. 3, 4) provides for the execution of each task's current state function, and a system timer (FIG. 6) provides timer services to selective tasks. The architecture supports inter-task communication capabilities with message pipes and flags (FIG. 7). System calls (FIG. 8) provide utility functions for high-level access to system constructs. This structured architecture and its components provide for real-time performance and deterministic behavior of an embedded application (FIG. 9).