re: "Seriously?"
Yes. This is serious.
re: "I pay a freelancer to build out a fully functional website. I spend hours doing Q/A because the developer doesn't check his own work."
Q/A is a very important part of a project like this. If you want your project to succeed, somebody needs to do Q/A.
That person does not necessarily need to be the lead developer. Or it could be the lead developer and another person. How this is done is not a principle that Upwork dictates.
As a practical matter, if you hired a lead dev who doesn't do Q/A, then by definition, you need to hire somebody else to do Q/A. Or you need to do it yourself.
These are basic project management principles. These principles don't really have anything to do with Upwork, specifically.
Also, keep in mind the difference between hourly versus fixed-price contracts. If I hire a freelancer using a fixed-price contract, then the freelancer is begin paid to create and turn in a specific deliverable. A freelancer can finish that deliverable and turn it in without doing Q/A. Or with very minimal Q/A. The freelancer is not getting paid for his time, so there isn't necessarily any motivation to do things outside of the written task agreement: Such as Q/A. Such as documentation. Such as training, etc.
If I am serious about hiring freelancers to work on my develpment project and if quality is highly important, then I will use hourly contract as a default.
The fixed-price contract model is not used to ensure the highest level fo quality. It is used to determine beforehand what a specific task or deliverable will cost.
re: "I've repeatedly asked him to check his work before sending it over to me. Here I am still waiting."
This is a project management issue. If you have one member on your team who does CSS front-end design, and you have another member of your team who does not do that type of work... Then when you want somebody to work on CSS front-end design on your project, you ask the one who does.
You are complaining about having had to repeatedly ask a developer to check his work before sending it to you. This is not an Upwork issue. This is a project management issue.
You have options:
- You can appreciate the work that this developer does and ask another member of the team to check it further
- You can communicate with this developer the importance of checking his work and doing Q/A. This is a "training and personnel development" matter. It may or may not be possible to convert him to working the way you want him to.
- If this problem is being caused because you are using fixed-price contracts instead of hourly, then you can switch to hourly.
- You can stop working with this developer and assign work to somebody else entirely.
re: "Yes, I am not achieving my goal because the freelancer isn't doing his job of building the website the correct way."
It is not this individual freelancer's responsibility to ensure that your website is completed the correct way. Nor is it Upwork's responsibility. It is the project manager's responsibility.
This not a "quirk" of the Upwork system. This has nothing to do with this individual freelancer, or you as a client, or with this particular project. These are general software engineering principles.
Upwork can not "choose" to create a system in which a client can hire a single freelance developer and ensure that a project will by completed successfully.
re: "I've done hours of a video recording showing him what I wanted. Still, he doesn't get it."
Much of what you have said in this thread indicates an extreme focus on this one freelancer, at the expense of your project. By focusing on one individual freelancer, particularly one who is not providing you with what you need, you are not following successful project management principles.
It is not the fault of this single freelance developer that your project is not going the way you want it to go. It is the fault of the project manager.
You are putting interest in and concern over this freelancer ahead of your own needs, and ahead of the success of your project.
Your project would be better off if you took a more dispassionate, less personal approach.
Are you thinking of this individual freelancer as in indispensable element who is key to the success of your project? Or are you thinking of this freelancer as a means to an end?
Did you know that the rock band Queen still tours and records new albums, even though Freddie Mercury is dead? If Queen can go on without Freddie Mercury, is it possible that your project can go on without relying solely on this one freelancer? A freelancer who (let's be honest) nobody has ever heard of, and whose skills can be found among thousands of other Upwork freelancers.
re: "If I could build the website myself, I would hire a developer. I've hired two freelancers before and they were great."
This is an important insight. You know that not all developers are the same. You know that there are freelancers who can be great. One of the most important things that a client or project manager can do is to fire underperforming freelancers and assign work to the top performers on their team.
re: "Freelancer told me that he took on a bigger project so his time will be dedicated to that project. He can only work on my website when he has time."
This is valuable information that you received from this freelancer. In telling you this, he is trying to help you out. You know that you need to keep this freelancer on as a consultant who does a small amount of work in helping you transition to other developers. But you should no longer plan to have the bulk of the work that remains done by this freelancer.
re: "Your reply makes no sense."
If there is any part of my previous post, or this one, that does not make sense, please point it out. My interest here is only in helping you succeed with your goals, and with helping other people who read this thread learn how to succeed.
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Summary:
I think the most important things that you need to understand and incorporate into your efforts as a client are:
- It is not the responsibility of any individual developer to ensure that your development project succeeds. It is the project manager's responsibility.
- You should not rely on one individual developer to complete a project of this size and scope. Especially somebody who has already tried to tell you that he is no longer interested in working on your project.
- You should not put the needs of a freelancer ahead of your own needs and the needs of your project.
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