Create the Test You Want to Grade

Why the most obvious metric is rarely the right one

Welcome to Frank Takeaways. I'm Frank, writing the notes worth keeping from decades at companies like Slack, Etsy, and Google. I run a coaching practice dedicated to guiding leaders through the tricky stuff of building products and high-performing teams.

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I watch a lot of sports. Grew up playing them. They were always on in my house, a backdrop to every holiday, different teams and vintages discussed like distant relatives. Sports is drama — there is no script — and it changes year to year.

So does the scorebug.

A scorebug is the graphic overlay on a broadcast that displays the score, the clock, the teams. It seems simple, but someone designs it. Someone decides what information matters most in this moment. During the Olympics, scorebugs feature flags — nationality is the story. This year’s NFL broadcasts prominently feature team mascots over names — identity a…