There are two types of traders discretionary and non-discretionary.
Discretionary traders rely on intuition or gut feeling about the market. They may use indicators to trade with but rarely is a system behind the process. One such trader that I work for is a discretionary trader that started trading the pits in Chicago before the 'Arbitration' and 'Commodity Spread' trading dried up with the advancement of technology.
Then there are non-discretionary traders; these are the traders that have a system behind their trading. They know there entry rules and exit rules and attempts to find a edge in a system to generate profits.
I myself am a non-discretionary trader. I develop automated trading systems for a Hedge Fund in Austin, TX. I have a lot to learn and don't claim to be a expert and have a lot of respect for the participants of this forum welcoming any feedback and comments along the way of this journal.
The reason why I am starting this journal is to show members of futures.io (formerly BMT) how I approach designing and testing trading systems. Another reason why I am starting this journal is because I have seen a lot of traders curve fit a system and wonder why it looks great in back testing but then instantly lose money when putting capital behind it. I believe that if you follow a process in the development of a trade system you can avoid curve fitting and find a system that is right for you. I hope you enjoy and learn something from my journal. At the same time I hope to learn from you as well.