# DOV controls

Form aging and cycle time reports show the amount of time it takes to capture data throughout various steps of the electronic data entry process. These calculations begin with the date of visit (DOV).

There are several options for designing DOV controls. In general, the DOV control should:

- Have a specific Universal Unique Identifier (UUID).
- Appear within a form section that is identified with a specific UUID.
- Not appear on a common form.

Note: For information on designing DOV controls, see the Utilities Guide.

The Reporting and Analysis module retrieves DOV data from the database, assuming that your study uses specific UUIDs.

If a study uses the special DOV UUIDs, an InForm user can leave the DOV item blank during data entry. When the DOV is blank, DOV columns and columns that contain calculations that rely on a DOV are blank.

If an InForm user enters a DOV that is later than the data entry date, reports show negative values in cycle time columns.

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