15. In a general purpose computer, a method for automatically testing a business intelligence artifact, the method comprising: developing an initial version of a business intelligence artifact based on requirements of a business intelligence stakeholder, wherein the business intelligence artifact is selected from the group consisting of: a report specification, an analysis cube, and a metadata model; executing the initial version of the business intelligence artifact to generate a business intelligence output populated with business intelligence data corresponding to the requirements of the business intelligence stakeholder; creating at least one test case for the initial version of the business intelligence artifact, the at least one test case having at least one assertion condition to verify that the initial version of the business intelligence artifact is functioning properly after the initial version of the business intelligence artifact is executed; using an automated agent interfaced with the business intelligence system to test the initial version of the business intelligence artifact for errors by determining whether the business intelligence output generated by the initial version of the business intelligence artifact satisfies the assertion conditions after the business intelligence artifact is executed; and when errors are detected, using a subsequent version of the business intelligence artifact.
19. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the at least one assertion comprises a characteristic related to a data content in the business intelligence output.