GitHub Copilot Tax Modernization Demo

Overview

This demo showcases GitHub's AI-powered development platform through a realistic tax system modernization scenario, demonstrating three key capabilities:

1. GitHub Copilot - AI-powered code understanding and generation
2. GitHub Advanced Security - Automated security vulnerability detection
3. GitHub Platform - Collaborative development and code management

Demo Scenario

You're working with a government agency modernizing their tax calculation system:

• Legacy System: 1985 COBOL tax calculator (TAX-CALC.cbl)
• Modern System: Java-based microservice architecture
• Challenge: Transfer 40+ years of tax law logic while improving security and maintainability

Demo 1: Legacy Code Understanding & Modernization (5-7 minutes)

Setup

1. Open VS Code in this workspace
2. Ensure GitHub Copilot extension is installed and active
3. Have both legacy-cobol/TAX-CALC.cbl and modern-java/TaxCalculationService.java ready

Demo Script

Scene 1: Understanding Legacy COBOL (2 minutes)

1. Open TAX-CALC.cbl
2. Demo Point: "This is 40-year-old COBOL handling millions of tax returns"
3. Use Copilot Chat: "Explain what this COBOL program does"
4. Use Copilot Chat: "What are the key business rules in the CALCULATE-FEDERAL-TAX section?"
5. Key Message: "Copilot helps your junior developers understand legacy systems instantly"

Scene 2: Code Translation (2 minutes)

1. Select the CALCULATE-FEDERAL-TAX section in COBOL
2. Use Copilot Chat: "Convert this COBOL tax calculation logic to modern Java"
3. Show how it matches the Java implementation
4. Key Message: "AI accelerates modernization while preserving business logic"

Scene 3: Documentation Generation (1-2 minutes)

1. In the Java file, use Copilot to generate javadoc comments
2. Prompt: "Add comprehensive javadoc for this tax calculation method"
3. Key Message: "Copilot helps document legacy knowledge before retirement"

Demo 2: Security Scanning with Advanced Security (3-5 minutes)

Setup

1. Open TaxDataService.java (contains intentional vulnerabilities)
2. Enable GitHub Advanced Security in repository settings
3. Push code to trigger security scan

Demo Script

Scene 1: Vulnerability Detection

1. Show the security vulnerabilities in TaxDataService.java:

   • Hard-coded credentials (lines 23-24, 27)
   • SQL injection vulnerabilities (lines 39, 54)
   • Weak cryptography (line 67)
   • Information disclosure (lines 42, 57, 84)

2. Demo Point: Show GitHub Security tab with detected issues

3. Key Message: "Advanced Security automatically identifies security risks in legacy modernization"

Scene 2: Fix Suggestions

1. Use Copilot Chat: "Fix the SQL injection vulnerability in getTaxpayerById method"
2. Use Copilot Chat: "Replace hard-coded credentials with secure configuration"
3. Key Message: "Copilot suggests secure coding practices during modernization"

Demo 3: Developer Productivity Scenarios (2-3 minutes)

Junior Developer Onboarding

1. Use Copilot Chat: "I'm new to tax software. Explain the concept of progressive tax brackets"
2. Use Copilot Chat: "Generate unit tests for the calculateFederalTax method"
3. Key Message: "Copilot accelerates junior developer onboarding in complex domains"

Code Review Enhancement

1. Use Copilot Chat: "Review this tax calculation code for accuracy and edge cases"
2. Key Message: "AI assists in maintaining tax law compliance during code reviews"

Key Talking Points

Business Value

• Knowledge Transfer: Capture retiring COBOL developer expertise
• Risk Reduction: Automated security scanning prevents compliance issues
• Accelerated Delivery: 30-55% faster development with Copilot
• Quality Improvement: AI-assisted code reviews catch tax law edge cases

Technical Benefits

• Legacy Understanding: Explain 40-year-old business logic instantly
• Modern Migration: Translate COBOL to Java while preserving logic
• Security First: Built-in security scanning for regulatory compliance
• Documentation: Auto-generate docs before institutional knowledge is lost

ROI Indicators

• Reduced time-to-market for tax law changes
• Lower security incident risk
• Faster developer onboarding (weeks vs months)
• Preserved institutional knowledge in code documentation

Demo Environment Setup

Prerequisites

• VS Code with GitHub Copilot extension
• GitHub repository with Advanced Security enabled
• Java development environment (for syntax highlighting)

File Structure

COBOLTest/
├── legacy-cobol/
│   └── TAX-CALC.cbl          # Legacy COBOL system
├── modern-java/
│   ├── TaxCalculationService.java  # Modern implementation
│   └── TaxDataService.java         # Security demo (vulnerable)
└── docs/
    └── README.md             # This file

Follow-up Questions to Expect

Q: "How does Copilot handle tax law compliance?" A: Copilot helps with implementation patterns and suggests best practices, but tax law validation still requires domain expertise and testing. It's a force multiplier, not a replacement for compliance knowledge.

Q: "What about data privacy with sensitive tax information?" A: GitHub Copilot for Business doesn't retain or train on your code. All suggestions are generated from publicly available code patterns, not your proprietary tax data.

Q: "How do we measure ROI on these tools?" A: Track metrics like development velocity, security incident reduction, code review cycle time, and developer onboarding time. Many customers see 30-55% productivity gains.

Next Steps

1. Pilot Program: Start with a small team on a non-critical modernization project
2. Training: Provide Copilot training for both COBOL and Java developers
3. Security Integration: Enable Advanced Security across all repositories
4. Measurement: Establish baseline metrics for productivity and security