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TRIBEAI / Version 2026-11-02

Indicator testing checklist

A practical checklist and experiment journal for a more careful indicator test. Free HTML, ready to save or print.

  1. ☐ Write the question, acceptance criteria and stopping rule before you see the results.
  2. ☐ Record data provenance, license, version, timestamps, timezone and adjustments. Select the universe using information available at the time.
  3. ☐ Split data in chronological order. Fit features, scaling and thresholds using training data only.
  4. ☐ Keep the final test untouched. Use past-only walk-forward evaluation; document overlapping horizons and dependence.
  5. ☐ Compare with simple baselines on the same dates, targets and cost assumptions.
  6. ☐ Include fees, spread, slippage and execution constraints. A stop price does not guarantee a fill at that price.
  7. ☐ Log every model, market, threshold and horizon tried. Account for multiple testing instead of reporting only the best variant.
  8. ☐ Report sample size, uncertainty, net results and drawdown. A high hit rate alone does not establish an advantage.
  9. ☐ Check stability across periods and conditions. Explain negative results and when the method could fail.
  10. ☐ Archive data references, code, configuration, seeds and outputs. Review claims and risks before publication.

Experiment journal

Question and decision rule
 
Dataset, license and period
 
Training / validation / final test
 
Baseline and costs
 
All variants tried
 
Results, uncertainty and limitations
 
Next decision and reviewer
 

Method references