In Active Directory environments, we often need to allow project managers to manage membership of specific security groups without granting them full administrative privileges. This becomes crucial when:

• Project managers need to add/remove team members from project-specific groups
• You want to maintain security by limiting access to only relevant groups
• The organization follows the principle of least privilege

The "Managed By" tab in AD groups provides partial functionality for this scenario. Here's how to set it up:

# PowerShell to set the Managed By property
Set-ADGroup -Identity "ProjectX_Managers" -ManagedBy "CN=ProjectX_Admins,OU=Groups,DC=domain,DC=com"

However, this approach has limitations:

• Managers can't easily view the complete user list
• No intuitive GUI for non-technical users
• Limited filtering capabilities

For better usability, we can build a simple web interface using ASP.NET:

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!IsPostBack)
    {
        // Get current user's groups
        var userGroups = UserPrincipal.Current.GetAuthorizationGroups();
        
        // Filter to only groups they can manage
        var manageableGroups = userGroups
            .Where(g => g is GroupPrincipal && 
                   ((GroupPrincipal)g).ManagedBy == UserPrincipal.Current.DistinguishedName)
            .ToList();
        
        groupList.DataSource = manageableGroups;
        groupList.DataBind();
    }
}

protected void groupList_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    var selectedGroup = groupList.SelectedValue;
    var members = GetGroupMembers(selectedGroup);
    
    currentMembers.DataSource = members;
    currentMembers.DataBind();
    availableUsers.DataSource = GetDomainUsers();
    availableUsers.DataBind();
}

For more granular control, we can modify Active Directory ACLs directly:

# PowerShell to delegate membership management
$groupDN = "CN=ProjectX_Users,OU=Groups,DC=domain,DC=com"
$managerDN = "CN=ProjectX_Manager,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com"

$acl = Get-Acl "AD:\$groupDN"
$rule = New-Object System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectoryAccessRule (
    $managerDN,
    "WriteProperty",
    "Allow",
    [Guid]"bf9679c0-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2", # member attribute
    "None"
)
$acl.AddAccessRule($rule)
Set-Acl -AclObject $acl -Path "AD:\$groupDN"

• Always test in a non-production environment first
• Document all permission changes for audit purposes
• Consider creating a separate OU for delegatable groups
• Implement regular reviews of delegated permissions

If managers can't see users or make changes:

1. Verify the manager has "Read" permissions on user objects
2. Check if any conflicting permissions exist
3. Ensure the manager account isn't locked or disabled

In enterprise environments, there's often a need to allow project managers to control access to their project resources without granting full Active Directory administrative privileges. The common scenario involves:

• Two security groups per project (Managers and Workers)
• Managers needing to control membership of both groups
• Restricting access to only their project groups

The "Managed By" tab method you've tried is partially correct but needs refinement. Here's how to properly implement it:

# PowerShell script to delegate control
Import-Module ActiveDirectory

# Define groups
$ManagerGroup = "ProjectX_Managers"
$WorkerGroup = "ProjectX_Workers"

# Grant membership management rights
$WorkerGroupDN = (Get-ADGroup $WorkerGroup).DistinguishedName
$ManagerGroupDN = (Get-ADGroup $ManagerGroup).DistinguishedName

$params = @{
    Identity = $WorkerGroupDN
    Trustee = $ManagerGroupDN
    AccessRights = "WriteProperty"
    PropertyType = "Member"
    Confirm = $false
}

Add-ADPermission @params

For non-technical users, we can create a simple web interface using ASP.NET:

// C# code for basic group management page
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!IsPostBack)
    {
        var currentUser = User.Identity.Name;
        if (IsProjectManager(currentUser))
        {
            var projectGroups = GetManagedGroups(currentUser);
            groupList.DataSource = projectGroups;
            groupList.DataBind();
        }
    }
}

protected void UpdateMembership(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    using (var context = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain))
    {
        var group = GroupPrincipal.FindByIdentity(context, groupList.SelectedValue);
        var user = UserPrincipal.FindByIdentity(context, userName.Text);
        
        if (addMember.Checked)
            group.Members.Add(user);
        else
            group.Members.Remove(user);
        
        group.Save();
    }
}

When implementing this solution:

• Audit all membership changes
• Implement approval workflows for sensitive groups
• Consider creating a separate OU for project groups
• Use constrained delegation if cross-domain management is needed

For simpler deployments, you can use Active Directory Administrative Center:

1. Open ADAC and navigate to the group
2. Right-click and select "Properties"
3. Go to "Managed By" tab
4. Check "Manager can update membership list"
5. Add the manager's group to the Security tab with "Write members" permission