# US 10,872,315 B1 · Methods, systems and computer program products for prioritization of benefit qualification questions

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 10,872,315 B1
- Document ID: US10872315B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 15/221,495
- Filed: 2016-07-27
- Granted: 2020-12-22
- Earliest claimed: 2016-07-27
- Assignees: Intuit Inc.
- Applicants: Intuit Inc.
- Inventors: Gang Wang; Gregory W. Miller; Kevin M. McCluskey; Joseph Elwell; Andre Felipe Luis; Benny Venat Joseph; Arien C. Ferrell; Michael J. Graves
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10872315B1

## CPC

- G06Q 10/1057: Benefits or employee welfare, e.g. insurance, holiday or retirement packages
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A computer-implemented method for acquiring benefits qualification data includes obtaining a profile corresponding to the individual. The method also includes forming respective sets of unanswered questions in each completeness graph in a set of completeness graphs by running the profile against each completeness graph. The method further includes forming a union set of unanswered questions in the set of completeness graphs from the respective sets of unanswered questions in each completeness graph. Moreover, the method includes identifying a high priority unanswered question in the union set of unanswered questions using a prioritization algorithm. Each completeness graph corresponds to a respective benefit program.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer-implemented method to execute a benefit analysis system for acquiring benefits qualification data, the benefit analysis system being stored at least partially in a memory of a computing system and functioning in conjunction with one or more processors of the computing system, the method being performed by the computing system and comprising:
storing, in a shared data store of the benefit analysis system, benefit qualification data corresponding to an individual, the benefit qualification data comprising user input data and data imported from one or more online resources through at least one network;
obtaining a profile including the benefit qualification data corresponding to the individual;
for each of a plurality of benefit programs corresponding to a plurality of completeness graphs, obtaining at least one completeness graph, each completeness graph representing a completeness graph data structure configured to determine whether the profile satisfies the completeness graph and thereby qualifies for the respective benefit program different from another benefit program, wherein each completeness graph comprises a plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and a plurality of respective arcs, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and the plurality of respective arcs representing the rules and regulations for qualifying for the respective benefit program, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes comprising a beginning node, a termination node, a plurality of intermediate nodes, at least one arc being between the beginning node and at least one intermediate node, at least one arc being between the termination node and at least one intermediate node, and at least one arc being between different intermediate nodes, wherein respective beginning and intermediate nodes correspond to a plurality of questions indicative of respective benefit qualification questions, and respective arcs correspond to respective answers to the respective benefit qualification questions;
generating a set of unanswered questions from each of the plurality of the completeness graphs by running the profile against each completeness graph to fill the respective beginning node and intermediate nodes of each completeness graph with data of the profile, each set of unanswered questions being different from another set of unanswered questions from another completeness graph;
generating a collection of unanswered questions from a plurality of sets of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs in a manner that eliminates duplicated unanswered questions; and
based on an average potential benefit associated with each completeness graph and obtained from a benefit agency database, identifying a high priority unanswered question in the collection of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs by executing a prioritization algorithm.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising removing a completeness graph not satisfied by the profile from the set of the completeness graphs by running the profile against the completeness graph before forming respective sets of unanswered questions.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein running the profile against the completeness graph indicates that a likelihood that the profile would satisfy the completeness graph is lower than a threshold value.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising removing a duplicate unanswered question from the collection of unanswered questions.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritization algorithm comprises:
accessing a benefit agency database to obtain the average potential benefit corresponding to each completeness graph associated with the respective benefit program;
determining a respective impact of each unanswered question in the collection of unanswered questions, the respective impact being equal to a sum of respective average potential benefits of each completeness graph in which the respective unanswered question appears; and
identifying an unanswered question in the collection of unanswered questions with a highest impact as the high priority unanswered question.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data through a user interface, wherein the profile comprises the received data.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing previously collected data, wherein the profile comprises the accessed data.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving an answer to the high priority unanswered question;
modifying the profile corresponding to the individual based on the received answer;
modifying the respective sets of unanswered questions in each completeness graph in the set of completeness graphs by running the modified profile against each completeness graph;
forming a modified collection of unanswered questions in the set of completeness graphs from the modified respective sets of unanswered questions in each completeness graph; and
identifying, based on the modified profile, a new high priority unanswered question in the modified collection of unanswered questions using a prioritization algorithm.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the new high priority unanswered question is identified in real-time when the answer is received.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining an answer to the high priority unanswered question.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
generating a user interface; and
presenting the high priority unanswered question through the user interface.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the high priority unanswered question is in a plurality of sets of unanswered questions.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising: evaluating missing data fields identified by the completeness graphs; and presenting suggested questions to be asked to the individual to fill in the missing data fields to be stored in the shared data store.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a text explanation of each node is stored within respective memory locations in the shared data store.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein each node contains a question being logically expressed by the completeness graph that is answered in the affirmative or negative to minimize subsequent questions based on answers given to prior questions.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein each node of respective completeness graph is associated to at least one pre-stored narratives stored within respective memory locations in the shared data store and the at least one pre-stored narrative is mapped to the node of respective completeness graph.

### Claim 17

A computer-implemented method to execute a benefit analysis system for acquiring benefits qualification data, the benefit analysis system being stored at least partially in a memory of a computing system, the memory storing computer-executable instructions in conjunction with one or more processors of the computing system, the method being performed by the computing system and comprising:
storing, in a shared data store of the benefit analysis system, benefit qualification data corresponding to an individual, the benefit qualification data comprising user input data and data imported from one or more online resources through at least one network;
obtaining a profile including the benefit qualification data corresponding to the individual;
for each of a plurality of benefit programs corresponding to a plurality of completeness graphs, obtaining at least one completeness graph, each completeness graph representing a completeness graph data structure configured to determine whether the profile satisfies the completeness graph and thereby qualifies for the respective benefit program different from another benefit program, wherein each completeness graph comprises a plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and a plurality of respective arcs, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and the plurality of respective arcs representing the rules and regulations for qualifying for the respective benefit program, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes comprising a beginning node, a termination node, a plurality of intermediate nodes, at least one arc being between the beginning node and at least one intermediate node, at least one arc being between the termination node and at least one intermediate node, and at least one arc being between different intermediate nodes, wherein respective beginning and intermediate nodes correspond to a plurality of questions indicative of respective benefit qualification questions, and respective arcs correspond to respective answers to the respective benefit qualification questions;
forming a schema, the schema comprising the profile and a set of completeness graphs, wherein each completeness graph in the set of the completeness graphs corresponds to a respective benefit program;
generating a set of unanswered questions from each of the plurality of the completeness graphs by running the profile against each completeness graph to fill the respective beginning node and intermediate nodes of each completeness graph with data of the profile, each set of unanswered questions being different from another set of unanswered questions from another completeness graph;
generating a collection of unanswered questions from a plurality of sets of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs in a manner that eliminates duplicated unanswered questions; and
based on an average potential benefit associated with each completeness graph and obtained from a benefit agency database, identifying a high priority unanswered question in the collection of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs by executing a prioritization algorithm.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the processing further comprises removing a completeness graph not satisfied by the profile from the set of completeness graphs by running the profile against the completeness graph before forming respective sets of unanswered questions.

### Claim 19

A computing system to implement a benefit analysis system for acquiring benefits qualification data, the benefit analysis system comprising an input output module and a benefits calculation engine and being stored at least partially in a memory of a computing system, the memory storing computer-executable instructions being executed to cause the computing system to preform processing comprising:
storing, in a shared data store of the benefit analysis system, benefit qualification data corresponding to an individual, the benefit qualification data comprising user input data and data imported from one or more online resources through at least one network;
obtaining, by executing an input output module, a profile including the benefit qualification data corresponding to the individual;
for each of a plurality of benefit programs corresponding to a plurality of completeness graphs, obtaining at least one completeness graph, each completeness graph representing a completeness graph data structure configured to determine whether the profile satisfies the completeness graph and thereby qualifies for the respective benefit program different from another benefit program, wherein each completeness graph comprises a plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and a plurality of respective arcs, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and the plurality of respective arcs representing the rules and regulations for qualifying for the respective benefit program, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes comprising a beginning node, a termination node, a plurality of intermediate nodes, at least one arc being between the beginning node and at least one intermediate node, at least one arc being between the termination node and at least one intermediate node, and at least one arc being between different intermediate nodes, wherein respective beginning and intermediate nodes correspond to a plurality of questions indicative of respective benefit qualification questions, and respective arcs correspond to respective answers to the respective benefit qualification questions;
by executing the benefits calculation engine, generating a set of unanswered questions from each of the plurality of the completeness graphs by running the profile against each completeness graph to fill the respective beginning node and intermediate nodes of each completeness graph with data of the profile, each set of unanswered questions being different from another set of unanswered questions from another completeness graph;
generating a collection of unanswered questions from a plurality of sets of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs in a manner that eliminates duplicated unanswered questions; and
based on an average potential benefit associated with each completeness graph and obtained from a benefit agency database, identifying a high priority unanswered question in the collection of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs by executing a prioritization algorithm.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, further comprising a memory configured to store the profile and the set of completeness graphs.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein the memory is configured to store the profile and the set of completeness graphs as a schema.

### Claim 22 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the processing further comprises: by executing the benefits calculation engine, removing a completeness graph not satisfied by the profile from the set of completeness graphs by running the profile against the completeness graph before forming respective sets of unanswered questions.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The system of claim 22, wherein running the profile against the completeness graph indicates that a likelihood that the profile would satisfy the completeness graph is lower than a threshold value.

### Claim 24 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the processing further comprises: by executing the benefits calculation engine, removing a duplicate unanswered question from the collection of unanswered questions.

### Claim 25 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the prioritization algorithm is stored in the benefits calculation engine and comprises:
accessing a benefit agency database to obtain the average potential benefit corresponding to each completeness graph associated with the respective benefit program;
determining a respective impact of each unanswered question in the collection of unanswered questions, the respective impact being equal to a sum of respective average potential benefits of each completeness graph in which the respective unanswered question appears; and
identifying an unanswered question in the collection of unanswered questions with a highest impact as the high priority unanswered question.

### Claim 26 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, further comprising a user interface configured to receive data, wherein the profile comprises the received data.

### Claim 27 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the input output module is configured to access previously collected data, wherein the profile comprises the accessed data.

### Claim 28 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the input output module is configured to receive an answer to the high priority unanswered question, and wherein the benefits calculation engine is configured to:
modify the profile corresponding to the individual based on the received answer,
modify the respective sets of unanswered questions in each completeness graph in the set of completeness graphs by running the modified profile against each completeness graph,
form a modified collection of unanswered questions in the set of completeness graphs from the modified respective sets of unanswered questions in each completeness graph, and
identify, based on the modified profile, a new high priority unanswered question in the modified collection of unanswered questions using a prioritization algorithm.

### Claim 29 (depends on 28)

The system of claim 28, wherein the benefits calculation engine is configured to identify the new high priority unanswered question in real-time when the answer is received.

### Claim 30 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the input output module is configured to obtain an answer to the high priority unanswered question.

### Claim 31 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, further comprising a user interface manager configured to generate a user interface and present the high priority unanswered question through the user interface.

### Claim 32 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the high priority unanswered question is in a plurality of sets of unanswered questions.

### Claim 33 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the processing further comprises: by executing the benefits calculation engine,
evaluating missing data fields identified by the completeness graphs; and
proposing suggested questions to be asked to the individual to fill in the missing data fields to be stored in the shared data store.

### Claim 34 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein a text explanation of each node is stored within respective memory locations in the shared data store.

### Claim 35 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein each node contains a question being logically expressed by the completeness graph that is answered in the affirmative or negative to minimize subsequent questions based on answers given to prior questions.

### Claim 36 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein each node of respective completeness graph is associated to at least one pre-stored narratives stored within respective memory locations in the shared data store and the at least one pre-stored narrative is mapped to the node of respective completeness graph.

### Claim 37

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium embodying instructions executable by a computing system to implement a benefit analysis system, the benefit analysis system having an input output module and a benefits calculation engine, being stored at least partially in a memory of the computing system, and functioning in conjunction with one or more processors of the computing system, the instructions being executed to perform a process for acquiring benefit qualification data, the process comprising:
obtaining, by executing the input output module, a profile including the benefit qualification data corresponding to an individual;
for each of a plurality of benefit programs corresponding to a plurality of completeness graphs, obtaining at least one completeness graph, each completeness graph representing a completeness graph data structure configured to determine whether the profile satisfies the completeness graph and thereby qualifies for the respective benefit program different from another benefit program, wherein each completeness graph comprises a plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and a plurality of respective arcs, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and the plurality of respective arcs representing the rules and regulations for qualifying for the respective benefit program, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes comprising a beginning node, a termination node, a plurality of intermediate nodes, at least one arc being between the beginning node and at least one intermediate node, at least one arc being between the termination node and at least one intermediate node, and at least one arc being between different intermediate nodes, wherein respective beginning and intermediate nodes correspond to a plurality of questions indicative of respective benefit qualification questions, and respective arcs correspond to respective answers to the respective benefit qualification questions;
by executing the benefits calculation engine, generating a set of unanswered questions from each of the plurality of the completeness graphs by running the profile against each completeness graph to fill the respective beginning node and intermediate nodes of each completeness graph with data of the profile, each set of unanswered questions being different from another set of unanswered questions from another completeness graph;
generating a collection of unanswered questions from a plurality of sets of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs in a manner that eliminates duplicated unanswered questions; and
based on an average potential benefit associated with each completeness graph and obtained from a benefit agency database, identifying a high priority unanswered question in the collection of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs by executing a prioritization algorithm.

### Claim 38

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium embodying instructions to execute a benefit analysis system having an input output module and a benefits calculation engine, being stored at least partially in a memory of the computing system, and functioning in conjunction with one or more processors of the computing system, the instructions being executed to cause the computing system to perform a process for acquiring benefit qualification data, the process comprising:
storing, in a shared data store of the benefit analysis system, benefit qualification data corresponding to an individual, the benefit qualification data comprising user input data and data imported from one or more online resources through at least one network;
obtaining, by executing the input output module, a profile including the benefit qualification data corresponding to an individual;
for each of a plurality of benefit programs corresponding to a plurality of completeness graphs, obtaining at least one completeness graph, each completeness graph representing a completeness graph data structure configured to determine whether the profile satisfies the completeness graph and thereby qualifies for the respective benefit program different from another benefit program, wherein each completeness graph comprises a plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and a plurality of respective arcs, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes and the plurality of respective arcs representing the rules and regulations for qualifying for the respective benefit program, the plurality of interconnecting functional nodes comprising a beginning node, a termination node, a plurality of intermediate nodes, at least one arc being between the beginning node and at least one intermediate node, at least one arc being between the termination node and at least one intermediate node, and at least one arc being between different intermediate nodes, wherein respective beginning and intermediate nodes correspond to a plurality of questions indicative of respective benefit qualification questions, and respective arcs correspond to respective answers to the respective benefit qualification questions;
by executing the benefits calculation engine, forming a schema by executing the benefits calculation engine, the schema comprising the profile and a set of completeness graphs, wherein each completeness graph in the set of completeness graphs corresponds to a respective benefit program, wherein each completeness graph corresponds to a respective benefit program;
generating a set of unanswered questions from each of the plurality of the completeness graphs by running the profile against each completeness graph to fill the respective beginning node and intermediate nodes of each completeness graph with data of the profile, each set of unanswered questions being different from another set of unanswered questions from another completeness graph;
generating a collection of unanswered questions from a plurality of sets of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs in a manner that eliminates duplicated unanswered questions; and
based on an average potential benefit associated with each completeness graph and obtained from a benefit agency database, identifying a high priority unanswered question in the collection of the unanswered questions from the plurality of the completeness graphs by executing a prioritization algorithm.