I think deciding on what type of drive system (prototype) you want can more or less be created with very little or no revisions once kickoff starts.
For example, look at the cheesypoofs drive system, team 254. How many years has it been where their basic drivetrain and chassis is the "same."
That alone saved us two weeks so far in rebuilding our actual DT and allowed us to finish our basic robot already at this point.
Last year, because we couldnt decide what we wanted during the build season, we barely finished with zero drivetime for our students.
That certainly showed at our regional and the driving got better at championships.
