History and ownership
At The Hiser Group, we design technology that works hard for people, rather than technology that’s hard to work.
The core of our business is interface design. Hiser’s skills are applicable wherever people interact with machines. We're the intelligence behind hundreds of intuitive interfaces that are used every day.
The Hiser Group was established in 1991 by Andrew Hiser and Sarah Bloomer. The company began in Melbourne with just two consultants, and grew as the business expanded. As pioneers in the areas of usability and user-centred design, we created awareness of the issues and benefits just as major investment in IT, and later the web, started taking place.
In 1994 we opened our Sydney office with three consultants. We now have 15 consultants in our Sydney and Melbourne offices, plus management, sales and administrative support. We also make use of contractors, most Hiser-trained, for specific projects where their skills and flexibility can complement our full-time staff.
Ownership
After a decade of intense activity, in 2001 Andrew and Sarah announced they would move back to the United States with their family, selling their stake in the company. In January 2001, The Hiser Group became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serco Group Pty Ltd, a global services company, owned by Serco Group plc.
Hiser and Serco had long had a business partnership, with Serco Usability Services in the UK licensing The Hiser Element methodology and several Hiser courses, and exchanging staff.
