Getting a manager to authorize/verify details on a form

Question

Scenario
I have an InfoPath form. the user fills it in the details, and then a manager checks it over for accuracy. The manager then signs off the form to say that they are happy with the details and then the form gets submitted. This process does not happen every time and its purpose is to validate that the user is performing the job to an adequate standard.

It is this sign off process that I need help on.

I need an easy way to authenticate the Manager. and associate the authentication with the form.

Environment
IIS6, Sharepoint 2007, SQL Server 2005, Infopath 2007, Windows XP.

I have considered using digital certificates but it seems to be overly complex for what I am trying to achieve, however happy to be proven wrong.

Answer 1

The easiest/simplest way would be to activate approval on the forms library and give the manager(s) the Approve permission. This way users can submit forms that remain in a draft state until a manager approves them. Draft forms will be visible only to their author and the managers. The manager that approves a form will appear in the

If you need something more than this simple 2-step process you can activate the out-of-the-box approval workflow on the forms library. With this you can define multiple approval steps to the process, add task notifications to managers etc.

As far as authentication is concerned, SharePoint checks the roles/permissions assigned to users and forms internally so you don't need to do anything more.

Certificates are serious overkill for simple approval. Certificates cryptographically sign the content of a form and guarantee that its content was created by the owner of the certificate. Sharepoint already keeps track of who created and modified a document and can also keep track of document versions, so you don't need certificates unless you have some strange legal requirements.