Writing Requirements for a Trading Robot Developer
Summary
This article explains how to turn a trading idea into a precise specification for a trading robot. It recommends starting with the strategy’s general premise, defining important terms, then documenting separate buy and sell conditions, filters, signal lifetime, entries, exits, pending-order cancellation, position management, and lot calculation. The example specification describes a MACD and moving-average system, including signal rules, protective orders, and trailing-stop behavior.
The article also advises recording assumptions, testing and optimization plans, error handling, and examples of relevant chart situations. It distinguishes decisions the customer must make about the strategy from implementation work a developer can perform. A programmer can code rules and help diagnose errors, but cannot make a losing strategy profitable or replace systematic analysis. The document offers a process for communicating and testing an idea; it does not provide evidence that its example strategy earns profits.
Key ideas
- A useful robot specification translates a trading idea into explicit, testable rules.
- Define buy and sell conditions separately, including parameters, filters, and signal cancellation rules.
- Document entries, exits, pending orders, position management, and lot calculation in operational detail.
- Include testing hypotheses, parameter selection criteria, and error logging requirements.
- A developer can implement and debug code but cannot guarantee that the underlying strategy is profitable.
Tags
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.