problem with a third part designer?

We have just been trough hell with a third art design - she has not been productive, and we have ended up paying £400 for the design of a basic home page.

Initial budget was £800, and things were getting worse!

Issue:
1) The client seemed never happy about her work, and she became pissed off, having to send deliverables after deliverables while the client kept changing his mind all the time.
2) She eventually charged £400 for a single template - The client complaned that she never got it right, never following his indications, etc ....

Analysis:
Well, I had not done my duty - project management ... Never assume that a third part will be professionnal enough to handle his own stuff well with the client. You have still to coordinate, and to make sure that a process is respected (otherwise, like here, things get worse and worse, issues become individual issues, and communication is then impossible.

Solution:
Pay a lot of attention to project management - it is very important, even for small teams or small projects. Here is a template I have used to address the issue with the designer, and to sort it out :

Id	Title	Description	Deliverable 1	Reviewed	Second Deliverable	Status
1	T1	Desc 1	01/01/2003	03/01/2003	07/01/2003	Del 1
2	T2	Desc 2	04/01/2003	09/01/2003	14/01/2003	New

TITLE: Title of the page
Status: Status of the page
Description: Description of the specific page
Deliverable: Date expected to receive the first template(s) from the designer.
Reviewed: Date expected to receive the feedback from the client.
Second Deliverable: Date expected to receive the fixes (along with PSD) - creative considered as signed off.

Status : New Delivered Reviewed Signed Off