The second reason for the slower response is that each task executes for a predefined time period before control is given to the next task. So, when many tasks are executing, the delay becomes longer. Pre-emptive scheduling may cure much of the slow response and make a timeslicing system more predictive. Still, state machines are faster because each task is divided into small fragments by the programmer. Debugging a timeslicing system can be extremely difficult.
State machines are significantly easier to debug.
State machines operates independently of interrupts, and the individual states can be transmitted to the outside world and displayed on a monitor. This have shown to be very efficient during debugging. State machines scores highest on the reliability issues also. Because of the interrupt mechanisms, both application and RTOS bugs are often not easily reproduced. Using the reset button is not satisfactory on a real-time system.