A test method for a data processing device includes determining both a current state of the device and a desired state of the device. A set of instructions to transition the data processing device from the current state to the target state is obtained by initially selecting a first source state from a set of possible source states and corresponding instructions that can transition the device to the desired state. The instruction associated with the first source state is placed on an instruction stack. The source state and instruction selection process is repeated until the selected source state corresponds to the current state of the device under test. The instructions in the stack are applied to the device under test, and the resulting device state compared to the specified state to determine a test result.