In one example embodiment, a method includes, in one of an interpreted computer environment and a compiled computer environment, generating a software application. Generating the software application includes associating at least one first overlaid object with a first overlay group, the at least one overlaid object having a corresponding base object of the software application, assigning a first permission to the first overlay group, determining if a user is authorized to use the first overlay group based on the first permission, and configuring the software application to execute in the computer system using the at least one first overlaid object and the corresponding base object upon determining the user is authorized to use the first overlay group.