▪Chapter 04
CH. 04 § The Toolmaker
System Status: Cognitive-First
The Toolmaker
Engineering for the Human Mind
"A technologist whose skill was born from humility, and whose goal is to lead with empathy."
I am a Digital Humanist. I take pride in my work as a harmonious blend of knowledge, thoughtfulness, and a forward-thinking mindset—and then AI. By bridging Psychology and Technology, I build tools & systems that are not only efficient but intuitive, reducing cognitive load and empowering users.
▪Index of this chapter
Scroll ↓
▪CH. 04 § Project Index
Digital Ecosystem
Explore the codebase. Navigate through production systems, research tools, and prototypes.
Open any project for its story, architecture and cost estimate.
Open a project for its story, architecture and cost estimate.
▪CH. 04 § The Workshop — Innovations Ledger
The Workshop — Innovations Ledger
Every builder keeps a ledger. These are seven machines from mine — each one began as a human bottleneck (a researcher drowning in video timestamps, a committee buried in spreadsheets, a child fighting to remember), and each one ended as running code. No procurement cycle, no vendor. One builder, one problem, one working system.
ENTRY 01 4Set System Evolution Sole Developer
"Replaced enterprise platform for 8,000+ students data collection; streamlined checking system; headless server for full hands-off automation."
ENTRY 02 Video Tagger App Sole Developer
"Zero-cost, browser-native alternative to NVivo with frame-accurate time coding."
ENTRY 03 RCT Allocation System Statistical Modelling; GUI Tool Developer
"Hybrid pipeline balancing statistical rigor with operational logistics for 120 schools."
ENTRY 04 Qualtrics Automated DL Sole Developer
"Desktop GUI automating asynchronous large-scale survey exports and error recovery."
ENTRY 05 SEC Publication Records Sole Developer
"DSS automating tenure scoring logic via multi-model algorithmic calculation."
ENTRY 06 KeySteps Project Masterlist Sole Developer
"Operational command center managing logistics for multi-district longitudinal study."
ENTRY 07 i-Maze (i世代之記憶迷宮) Audio Director
"First Chinese-character SEN gaming app; 100+ ADHD/RD students showed significant working memory improvement."
Bench Note 01 Operator throughput — English typing 90wpm / Chinese 95wpm
Bench Note 02 AI & ML stack — API, Stable Diffusion, OpenAI, DallE, Anthropic, PyTorch
▪CH. 04 § Broadcasts — Thought Leadership
Broadcasting the Future
Beyond code and systems, I believe in the power of narrative. Through live broadcasts and media production, I explore how technology shapes our psychological landscape and cultural evolution.
Tech-Psych Discourse
Bridging the gap between algorithms and human behavior.
Digital Culture Analysis
Deconstructing trends in the digital age.
Herman's Live Channel
Join the live discussion on Tech, Culture, and Psychology on Bilibili.
FIG. 02 — LIVE CHANNEL, BILIBILI. SIGNAL CONTINUOUS.
Broadcast Highlights
Broadcast 01 / 05
▪CH. 04 § Origin — The Line of Descent
Narratives & Journey
▪2015 • Origin Story
The Reality Check
"I thought I was tech-savvy because I could design slides. Then I failed an interview because I couldn't do a VLOOKUP. I was humbled. That failure sparked a vow: never be incompetent again. I didn't just learn Excel; I mastered its very DNA."
Humbled▪2017 • First Build
The First System
"200 active cases. No AI. No shortcuts. Just me, Stack Overflow, and 6 months of brute-force learning."
Grit▪2018–2020 • Levelling Up
Scaling Complexity
"That first victory proved I could build anything if I dug deep enough. The tools just got better."
Evolution▪2023–2025 • Enterprise Architecture
The 4Set Evolution
A 4-generation journey from a fragile Excel monolith to a distributed hybrid-cloud infrastructure. Born from the "Data Starvation" of Gen 0, refined by the "Sneakernet" PWA of Gen 1, saved by the "Ghost Monitor" of Gen 2, and perfected by the async power of Gen 3.
The Catalyst
"The Qualtrics API was horrible. 1-second polling per record. It locked the UI and made mass uploads impossible."
▪2025 onward • Social Innovation
Beyond the Workplace
Equal Play opened a path from workplace systems to community projects. That work now extends into the Greater Bay Area through the 化龍 (Hualong) kindergarten platform, connecting teacher and parent experiences with school administration. Alongside it, I am forming the CiteReflex team and preparing for the EASE Fund.
EqualPlay · MyAndante HK Limited
As sole developer for MyAndante HK Limited, I developed EqualPlay’s application work across the learner app prototype, teacher dashboard, score conversion and rendering, microphone-based practice feedback, replay, games, and reward systems.
2025 awardee of CUHK Business School BESGO FoundRise (GBA Youth Entrepreneurship Support Scheme).
Try the current conversion demo ↗Product development · Cross-platform integration
化龍 · Building for the GBA
A kindergarten platform bringing teacher and parent experiences into one WeChat Mini Program, alongside a PC admin console and a shared backend. It connects teaching resources and cases, child assessments, family activities, and digital growth books.
The work spans product design, implementation, and integration across the three interfaces. The PC console’s nine business views are connected to shared APIs for school operations, review workflows, and reporting.
Team formation · Fund preparation
CiteReflex · The Next Team
As CTO & Chief Architect, I am helping form the CiteReflex team and prepare for EdUHK’s Education⁺ and Social Entrepreneurs (EASE) Fund. The proposed workflow retrieves candidate passages from a researcher’s saved papers; the author judges the evidence before inserting a citation in Word.
About the EASE Fund ↗▪CH. 04 § The Ledger — Roles on Record
Career Timeline
A chronological view of roles where technology amplified delivery, reduced risk, and created reusable assets.
Current work Sole Developer MyAndante HK Limited · EqualPlay
Developed the application work across EqualPlay’s integrated learner prototype, teacher console, score-processing pipelines, practice feedback, games, and shared service/API architecture.
Mar 2023 – Present Senior Research Assistant ECE, EdUHK
Run multi-school research operations with tech-enabled tracking, reporting, and stakeholder alignment.
- Translate field needs into lightweight tooling and repeatable workflows.
- Standardise data collection + reporting to reduce friction across sites.
- Ship internal utilities (Python/PowerQuery/Excel) that save hours every cycle.
Jan 2021 – Mar 2023 Project Officer AADO, EdUHK
Acted as an internal tech/ops consultant — turning messy requirements into clear systems, standards, and usable outputs.
- Website revamp work that improved information clarity and reduced staff back-and-forth on routine enquiries.
- Salesforce CRM vendor support: clarified requirements, QAd features, and pushed for scalable standards (not one-off fixes).
- Supported the EdFlix platform by translating user pain points into prioritized fixes and operational guidance.
Sep 2020 – Jan 2021 Project Officer (EOCP) SPFEO, EdUHK
Drove adoption of a university-wide online classes platform by turning requirements into usable flows.
- Bridged academics + IT to reduce rollout risk and support load.
- Codified process steps, edge-cases, and training materials for scale.
- Protected delivery timelines through clear triage and issue routing.
Sep 2018 – Sep 2020 Project Officer SEC, EdUHK Smart Work Practice Award (2018/19, 2019/20)
Built departmental systems and led 2020 pandemic-era upskilling so staff could teach online confidently.
- Built the SEC Departmental OSP (Excel/VBA) as a “department operating system” covering guest speaker workflows (JotForm ingestion + payment), course mass timetables, part-time records/pay tracking, equipment loan tracking, staff directory, and reference lists.
- Shipped the SEC Publication Records System (Excel/VBA + JCR/SJR lookups) to quantify research output and support reporting decisions.
- Built internal automation/templates that reduced manual processing time (up to 85%) and improved consistency across staff workflows.
- Recognised as the department’s go-to tech lead; later invited to serve as a judge. Led training on Google Workspace, online teaching tools, and Zoom.
- Authored the SEC Zoom guidebook (based on Zoom client 4.6.11; by Herman CHAN, PO/SEC), later adopted 100% by LTTC for wider teaching and learning rollout.
Jan 2018 – Sep 2018 Project Officer EPL / ELPS, EdUHK – CUHK
Supported cross-institution delivery by turning field requirements into clear processes and reliable tracking.
- Standardised data capture + reporting for multi-party coordination (schools, partners, and internal teams).
- Created reusable checklists and templates that reduced admin friction and improved handover quality.
▪CH. 04 § Transmission
System Status: Optimal
Initiate Connection
I am currently seeking opportunities to lead transformative projects. Whether it's about platform development, AI integration, or educational strategy, let's talk.