You keep changing the question.
Enough tweaks can make the past tell you what you want to hear.
INDEPENDENT THINKING. DOCUMENTED.
TEST TRADING IDEAS.
WITHOUT FOOLING YOURSELF.
Backtests reward the version you kept tweaking. Fieldnote makes you write the rules first, freeze them, and keep the result that challenges them.
14-day evaluation · No card required · Private by default
ES FUTURES / 15 MIN
Rules frozenOpening range breakout
01 Define02 Freeze03 Test04 Observe
Development vs. held-out evidenceIllustration · no returns claimed
― Development┄ Held-out test
Evidence challenged the idea
That’s a useful result. Keep the rules. Keep the lesson.
01 / THE RULES BEFORE THE RESULTSYOUR THINKING, ON RECORD.
BUILT FOR INDEPENDENT TRADERSTradingView workflowsPython researchFutures & systematic ideas
01 / WHY BACKTESTS LIE
A beautiful curve.
A questionable conclusion.
A backtest can look convincing long before the idea deserves your confidence.
You test on familiar ground.
Data you used to choose the rules cannot independently test those rules.
You only keep the winners.
Without failed attempts, your research record tells half the story.
02 / A MORE HONEST METHOD
Give your idea
somewhere to stand.
Four deliberate steps. One clear record of what you knew, what you chose, and what came next.
Define the idea
Write the rules and what would prove you wrong. Before seeing the result.
Freeze the rules
Keep this version unchanged. A revision gets its own version and reason.
Bring the evidence
Run the supported MNQ overnight-gap test in Fieldnote. For other strategies or markets, attach results from your own tool with sources and limitations.
Observe what follows
Record what happens forward in time. Keep the lessons, even when ideas fail.
03 / INSIDE FIELDNOTE
Your thinking.
Made visible.
A place for the rules, the uncomfortable results, and the next better question.
FIELDNOTE PRODUCT VIEW
RULES FROZEN / VERSION 02
Opening range breakout
After a quiet opening, does a break above the range follow through?
- Where it applies
- ES futures · regular session
- What would prove it wrong
- Non-positive expectancy after costs on held-out data.
- Execution assumptions
- Defined before testing. Preserved with this version.
FIELDNOTE PRODUCT VIEW
A source. A result. A reason.
Challenges · researcher annotation
“The advantage disappeared after adding realistic costs.”
Confidence not independently assessed. Keep the source and the limitation.
FIELDNOTE PRODUCT VIEW
Every attempt leaves something useful.
Opening range breakoutInconclusiveMore independent observations needed.
Monday reversalChallengedCosts erased the apparent advantage.
Overnight momentumSupportedKeep testing forward. No guarantee.
04 / THE PRODUCT IN THREE VIEWS
See the record
take shape.
Fieldnote keeps the decision, the evidence and the next observation in one readable trail.
What the evidence says
Held-out results did not meet the pre-set criterion.
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExpectancyNot supplied
ConfidenceNot assessed
SourceResearcher
A missing metric stays missing. Add the next piece of evidence when you have it.
Nothing disappears
Opening range breakoutInconclusiveNeeds more independent observations
Monday reversalChallengedCosts erased the apparent advantage
Overnight momentumSupportedStill being observed forward
Failed ideas stay available so the lesson is not repeated.
Keep watching
- Rules fixedVersion 02 preserved
- Observation loggedSource and limitation recorded
- Next reviewCompare with the original plan
Prospective evidence is recorded by you. No live execution.
04 / EVERY OUTCOME MATTERS
What survives.
What teaches you.
Three possible research outcomes. The verdict comes from the evidence and your criteria, not the colour of a chart.
Worth another test.
The stated criterion held on separate data. Keep asking harder questions.
Capital not risked.
The evidence challenged the premise. Preserve why, so the lesson stays useful.
Honesty over certainty.
Too little evidence or conflicting results. Name the uncertainty. Define the next test.
Illustrative outcomes. Fieldnote preserves supplied evidence; it does not automatically certify a strategy.
05 / A MEMORY FOR YOUR RESEARCH
Your failed ideas
are an asset.
Don’t start from zero every time. Return to the idea, the rules you fixed, and the evidence that changed your mind.
Build your research history →ILLUSTRATIVE HISTORY
Opening range breakoutInconclusiveMore independent observations needed.
Monday reversalChallengedCosts erased the apparent advantage.
Overnight momentumSupportedKeep testing forward. No guarantee.
NOTHING DISAPPEARS BECAUSE IT DIDN’T WORK.
FORWARD OBSERVATION / EXAMPLE
- Rules fixedVersion 02 preserved
- New observationRecord source and limitations
- Another piece of evidenceReview against the original plan
Observations you record. No live execution.
06 / BEYOND THE BACKTEST
The future doesn’t
know your parameters.
Once the rules are fixed, keep observing. Separate what you explored in the past from what actually happens next.
Understand forward observation →07 / KEEP YOUR TOOLS. IMPROVE YOUR METHOD.
Test MNQ gaps in Fieldnote.
Keep your other tools.
The questionYour backtesterFieldnote
How would these rules have performed?Runs your testRuns the supported MNQ gap test; preserves other evidence you bring
What did I decide before the result?Depends on your processFrozen rules and version history
What happened to the ideas that failed?Often a separate recordPart of your research history
08 / SMALL PILOT. SERIOUS RESEARCH.
Invest in a clearer
research process.
A simple pilot offer for independent traders. No promise of alpha. A better way to document the search.
GET TO KNOW THE METHOD
Evaluation
14 days
Make one real idea clearer before you decide.
- No card required
- Your own private workspace
- Define, freeze and record evidence
FOR YOUR RESEARCH PRACTICE
A better record of your edge.
$29 / month
Early-access pricing. Direct founder support.
- Private research history, including failed ideas
- Frozen rules and linked evidence
- Forward observations and JSON exports
- Research tools and direct founder support
09 / BEFORE YOU START
Good questions.
Clear answers.
Does Fieldnote run my backtests?
Fieldnote can run one supported family: MNQ overnight-gap continuation/reversal on 2024–2025 DEV data. Describe your idea, clarify the missing choices, then review and freeze the executable rules, then receive computed trades, costs and uncertainty. Other research stays manual: test in your usual tool and bring the results. No OOS or live trading.
Why freeze an idea before testing?
Freezing preserves what you decided before seeing results. This version cannot be edited. If the idea changes, create a successor draft and keep the original.
What happens to ideas that fail?
Keep them. Failed and inconclusive research stays in your history with its rules and evidence, so you can see what you learned instead of repeating the same experiment.
Are my strategies private?
Your research belongs to your account. We store it to provide the service and never publish it as a social feed. Minimal product analytics exclude strategy text.
What does the Founding Pilot cost?
$29/month after a 14-day evaluation without a card. The pilot includes research history, evidence, exports, forward observations and direct founder support. A pilot request is not a payment.
Does Fieldnote guarantee returns?
No. Historical or forward observations can fail. Results are limited evidence, not financial advice or a performance guarantee. Fieldnote does not place trades.
YOUR NEXT IDEA DESERVES A FAIR TEST.
Less fooling yourself.
More finding out.
Start researching ↗14-day evaluation · No card required