[omalleyj]

Have your programming team and electronics team try everything you intend to use on a breadboard early on, don't wait for the robot, or even subsystem, to be completed.
For instance: while the drive train and base are being assembled lay out the cRIO, power distribution board, digital sidecar, a motor controller, and a motor on a piece of plywood. Wire it up. Program a basic drive and test that the motor turns in the expected direction at the appropriate times. Plug its controller into another PWM and verifiy that works, rotating in the opposite direction when appropriate.
It's so much easier to try things laid out on a table with only a few connections at a time. (TAKE NOTES!)
Repeat for any sensors, relays, etc., you intend to use. It's tempting to try and lay out everything at once, but trying one thing and learning it thoroughly, is much less confusing when you are coming up to speed.