This work’s long-term objective is to assess the continuity of material deformation at the grain- and mesoscopic scale from processing to subsequent mechanical loading using crystal plasticity strain gradient models. To that end, advanced digital image correlation (HR-DIC) is performed on a pre-deformed microstructure of an Inconel 718, in order to provide plastic localization and discrete slip events necessary to instantiate simulation volumes. A numerical non-local crystal plasticity model has been developed, and implemented using FFT spectral method, to take into account initial deformation gradients and to describe their evolution under different loading conditions. Advanced experiment/simulation dialogue is expected to predict both localization of plastic strain at the sub-grain level and the macroscopic stress-strain behavior in recrystallized and pre-deformed microstructures. The process history of this latter microstructure will be purposely generated using stress-path change strategies on bi-axial specimens.