1. A method comprising: creating a hierarchical structure of user selectable functions or tasks of an application including a hierarchical function or task of the application and a plurality of dependent functions or tasks of the application selectable through the hierarchical function or task of the application through an input device; assigning at least one authorization context to each of the user selectable functions or tasks in the hierarchical structure such that the at least one authorization context is activated in response to selection of the user selectable function or task; providing a set of access policies stored on one or more computer storage devices and retrievable via a processing unit, the set of access policies being separate from the authorization contexts assigned to the user selectable functions or tasks of the application and including one or more rules defining access criteria for the user selectable functions or tasks in relation to a user's identification or role; and associating a first one of the access policies with an authorization context assigned to a first one of the dependent functions or tasks, the first one of the access policies being different than a second one of the access policies that is associated with an authorization context assigned to the hierarchical function or task, the second one of the access policies also being associated with an authorization context assigned to a second one of the dependent functions or tasks such that the second access policy is invoked upon selection of the hierarchical function or task and upon selection of the second one of the dependent functions or tasks.