Overwrite method to read the current state. Used to provide another storage mechanism, different from the standard Rails read_attribute method. class MyClass include AASM def aasm_read_state # retrieve the current state manually end end Overwrite method to write the current state (and actually persist it). Used to provide another storage mechanism, different from the standard Rails write_attribute method. class MyClass include AASM def aasm_write_state # store and persist the current state manually end end Overwrite method to write the current state (without persisting it). class MyClass include AASM def aasm_write_state_without_persistence # store the current state manually end end