1. A method for configuring an automated test associated with a component to be tested on a tester, the method comprising the steps of: associating one or more validation criteria with one or more actions to be performed to generate first associations; associating the one or more actions with one or more rules to generate second associations; associating one or more of the one or more rules with the component to be tested on the tester to generate third associations; maintaining a knowledge framework comprising the first associations, the second associations, and the third associations.