Early Submission of Project Analysis Milestones Correlates Positively With Student Project Performance; Incentives for This Early Project Analysis Positively Changes Student Behaviors

Students submitting project milestones early correlates with better performance on project submissions as a whole. In our study, these milestones correlate with the creation of documentation for analyzing the project they are to work on. These milestones are submitted at least 5 days before a project is due during a nearly 2 week assignment period. There is statistical significance in positive correlation between assignment performance and early submissions of these project milestones for analyzing a project's requirements. Additionally, there is statistical significance that incentivizing students with “grace points” for doing this early analysis changes student behavior, leading to earlier work on projects.