An experimental investigation into microscale transformation characteristics of polycrystalline NiTi wires of 500 lm diameter during shape memory cycling is discussed, with emphasis on the characterization of a pronounced heterogeneity in the strain distribution evident during detwinning of the martensite phase upon application of load and its persistence throughout the actuation cycle. Using scanning electron microscopy-digital image correlation, full-field strain maps at the microscale were obtained during shape memory cycling. It was found that the strains induced by detwinning were quite heterogeneous at the microscale, and could display a large degree of similarity with thermo-mechanical cycling that tended to increase as cycling progressed. Residual strain concentrated at locations where strain accumulation from detwinning and plasticity were significant, indicating that martensitic detwinning and the associated plasticity that occurs with it is spatially correlated to the subsequent accumulation of residual strain at the microscale.