International Journal of Handheld Computing Research, 2(3), 53-72, July-September 2011 53 Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Keywords: Awareness Systems, Day Reconstruction Method, Experience Sampling Method, Family Communication, In Situ Requirements Elicitation, Mobile Survey, User-Centered Design INTRODUCTION The current trend towards pervasive and context sensitive applications where information and computational technology are embedded in our social and physical environments presents substantial methodological challenges for re- searchers, designers, or technologists, wishing to design, analyze, or evaluate, corresponding user experiences. Available research methods have been shaped in past decades to support the design and evaluation of the cognitive ergonomics of task-oriented interaction, usu- ally contained within a contained time span. Extending such methods to study user experi- ences as these occur in situ, unfolding over Sampling and Reconstructing User Experience Panos Markopoulos, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Vassilis-Javed Khan, NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands ABSTRACT The Experience Sampling and Reconstruction (ESRM) method is a research method suitable for user studies conducted in situ that is needed for the design and evaluation of ambient intelligence technologies. ESRM is a diary method supported by a distributed application, Reconexp, which runs on a mobile device and a website, enabling surveying user attitudes, experiences, and requirements in ield studies. ESRM combines aspects of the Experience Sampling Method and the Day Reconstruction Method aiming to reduce data loss, improve data quality, and reduce burden put upon participants. The authors present a case study of using this method in the context of a study of communication needs of working parents with young children. Requirements for future developments of the tool and the method are discussed. days or weeks, capturing social interactions between several people and diverse environ- mental and technical contingencies, requires a substantial scaling up the data sampling in terms of frequency, duration, and the richness of records made. The objectives of system evaluation have also changed significantly. Transcending usabil- ity, evaluations of applications and services that are mobile and often context sensitive, typically examine higher level aspects of user experiences and user needs relating to persuasion, fun, en- gagement, trust, etc. Contextualized methods of data collection need to support the reporting of attitudes, opinions, or appraisals, close to the moment that a particular experience occurs and in the context where events and activities unfold. Such surveying of user attitudes can DOI: 10.4018/jhcr.2011070104