A method to develop a software based sequencer for a turbine including: selecting a general purpose sequencer software module having standardized software for sequencing turbines through defined states of operation; selecting options from predefined settings presented by the sequencer software module, wherein the selected options define operational events of the turbine which trigger the sequencer to transition the turbine from one of the defined states to the next defined state, and using the general purpose sequencer software configured with the selected options for the settings.