  This thesis consists of four parts: - An analysis of the core functions and
the prerequisites for recommender systems in an industrial context: we identify
four core functions for recommendation systems: Help do Decide, Help to
Compare, Help to Explore, Help to Discover. The implementation of these
functions has implications for the choices at the heart of algorithmic
recommender systems. - A state of the art, which deals with the main techniques
used in automated recommendation system: the two most commonly used algorithmic
methods, the K-Nearest-Neighbor methods (KNN) and the fast factorization
methods are detailed. The state of the art presents also purely content-based
methods, hybridization techniques, and the classical performance metrics used
to evaluate the recommender systems. This state of the art then gives an
overview of several systems, both from academia and industry (Amazon, Google
...). - An analysis of the performances and implications of a recommendation
system developed during this thesis: this system, Reperio, is a hybrid
recommender engine using KNN methods. We study the performance of the KNN
methods, including the impact of similarity functions used. Then we study the
performance of the KNN method in critical uses cases in cold start situation. -
A methodology for analyzing the performance of recommender systems in
industrial context: this methodology assesses the added value of algorithmic
strategies and recommendation systems according to its core functions.
