Policy application rules for automated configuration of software components

A method, system and article of manufacture are disclosed for configuring software application components. The method comprises the steps of developing a set of policy application rules, assembling unconfigured software components into one or more software applications, and applying said application rules to the unconfigured software components to configure said software components. In the preferred embodiment, the applying step includes the steps of passing the unconfigured software components to a policy rule engine, and using said policy rule engine to apply said application rules to the unconfigured software components to produce the configured components. In addition, the method may be done to resolve ambiguities in the software components. In particular, the application rules may be designed to resolve ambiguities in the application of these rules to the unconfigured software components. Also, each application rule preferably includes a condition, an application template, and a policy.