Dynamic Tax Screen Navigation via Declarative Data Structures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tax return preparation software often requires users to navigate rigidly defined user interfaces, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming, especially when handling non-standard screen changes, where user input may be inadvertently altered or confirmed without proper validation.
Innovation Solution
A tax return preparation system utilizing declarative data structures, such as completeness graphs and tax calculation graphs, allows for a smart tax logic agent to evaluate missing data and dynamically propose questions to users, with a user interface manager handling non-standard screen changes by confirming or re-requesting input based on pre-programmed or dynamically determined settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the system uses rigidly defined user interfaces with fixed question screen progression, then the system structure is simple and easy to implement, but the ease of operation deteriorates when users need to navigate non-standard screen changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic question screen progression where the system adapts the navigation flow based on user actions and data completeness requirements. The user interface manager dynamically determines the next question screen to present, allowing flexible navigation while maintaining system structure through declarative data structures that define the logic behind the dynamic behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The user interface manager acts as an intermediary between the rigid system structure and user needs. It interprets the declarative data structures and translates them into flexible user interactions, handling non-standard screen changes by confirming or re-requesting input based on pre-programmed settings, thus shielding users from system complexity.
2Reliability
If the system automatically processes user input without validation, then the processing speed is fast, but the reliability of data accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary validation by evaluating data completeness requirements before final processing. The user interface manager determines whether input requires confirmation or re-requesting based on pre-programmed settings and declarative data structures, preventing invalid data from propagating through the system while minimizing unnecessary validation steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where the user interface manager monitors user input and system state, then determines appropriate responses such as confirming input or re-requesting data. This feedback mechanism ensures data reliability while optimizing processing time by avoiding redundant validation when data is already complete and accurate.
3Productivity
If the system requests confirmation for all user input, then the data accuracy is high, but the productivity of the tax preparation process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different validation intensities to different data fields based on their importance and risk profile. The user interface manager uses declarative data structures to identify which fields require confirmation and which can be processed automatically, applying confirmation requests only where necessary to maintain accuracy while preserving productivity for routine fields.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the validation parameter (confirmation requirement) based on the specific data field and system state. Pre-programmed settings allow the system to adjust whether confirmation is required for each input, balancing productivity and precision by applying stricter validation only when necessary based on the declarative data structure definitions.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for handling tax data entered prior to non-standard screen changes while preparing an electronic tax return. A computerized tax return preparation system executes a tax logic agent to evaluate missing tax data and to output suggestions for obtaining the missing tax data to a user interface manager. The user interface manager uses the suggestions to generate a normal progression of question screens. The system presents a first question screen to the user and receives a tax data value for input by the user using the first question screen. The system changes from the first question screen to a different question screen which is not the next question screen after the first question screen in the normal progression. The system may then handle the tax data value input by the user based on a setting for the tax data, such as confirming, ignoring, or using.