How Intrinsiq Develops New Features: Part 1 – Identifying the Need
In this second instalment of our series on Intrinsiq’s development process, we’re taking a deeper look at the very first stage: Identifying the Need. Every new feature in Intrinsiq begins long before a line of code is written. It starts with understanding what the industry requires, how schools operate, and where real improvements can be made.
While this may seem like a simple starting point, it is in fact one of the most important and most active parts of our entire development cycle.
Listening to the Sector
Emerging trends often provide the earliest signals of what schools will need in the near future. To stay ahead of these shifts, our team regularly takes part in conferences, seminars, webinars, and industry events. These gatherings are incredibly insightful, as they bring together leaders, innovators, and educators who openly discuss challenges and new expectations.
It’s in these conversations, both on stage and in informal discussions, that recurring themes begin to surface. Whether it’s a push towards automation, new requirements in reporting, changing student expectations, or advances in integration tools, these insights help us anticipate what features will make a genuine difference for schools.
Keeping Pace with Technology
Just as the education sector evolves, so does technology itself. Staying aligned with emerging tech is essential to ensuring Intrinsiq remains modern, relevant, and robust.
We continually review new tools, software standards, and technological research to understand how they might benefit schools. Whether it’s improvements in data handling, smarter automation, new communication standards, or more efficient ways to integrate platforms, we want to ensure that Intrinsiq always feels current and capable of supporting the next generation of educational operations. Remaining up to date prevents stagnation, but more importantly, it allows us to introduce functionality that keeps schools future-ready.
Learning from Our Clients
One of the most valuable sources of inspiration comes from the people who use Intrinsiq every day. Conversations with clients uncover the real-life challenges that aren’t always visible from the outside. Schools adapt, processes change, and operational demands evolve over time, and clients are quick to share where the system can support them better.
Because they know their workflows inside out, their feedback is often the most direct route to meaningful improvement. Whether it’s a small adjustment that could simplify a task or a larger idea to improve student management efficiency, the insight we gain from these discussions helps shape many of the features on our roadmap.
What We Learn from Potential Clients
Even schools that are not yet working with us add immense value to this stage of the process. Demonstrations, conversations at conferences, and early exploratory calls help us understand how different institutions operate.
While most schools follow similar processes, there are always unique approaches and clever operational habits that can inspire new functionality. These insights help us refine existing features, discover new opportunities, and ensure that Intrinsiq can support a wide variety of workflows across the sector.
Our Ongoing Commitment
Identifying the need is not a one-off step, it is a continuous cycle. Our aim is to keep Intrinsiq streamlined, intuitive, and always improving. By combining industry insight, technological awareness, and real feedback from schools, we ensure that each new feature is practical, relevant, and aligned with the evolving needs of the sector.
In the next part of this series, we’ll explore how we evaluate these ideas before they move into development.
If you’d like to discuss potential improvements or share ideas, our team is always happy to hear from you.