6.1. Creating a Hello World Action

They JUnit test shown in "Figure 6.2. A Simple Hello Action"

assertNotNull(
"The greeting variable should not exist ",
instance.getContextInstance().getVariable("greeting"));

always seems to fail as there is no "greeting" variable before it is created in the "transition" from the "start" to the "auction" state. Is this not true? The JUnit succeeds if changed to assertNull