Recommender Systems Evaluator: A Framework for Evaluating the Performance of Recommender Systems

Recommender systems are filters that suggest products of interest to customers, which may positively impact sales. Nowadays, there is a multitude of algorithms for recommender systems, and their performance varies widely. So it is crucial to choose the most suitable option given a situation, but it is not a trivial task. In this context, we propose the Recommender Systems Evaluator (RSE): a framework aimed to accomplish an offline performance evaluation of recommender systems. We argue that the usage of a proper methodology is crucial when evaluating the available options. However, it is frequently overlooked, leading to inconsistent results. To help appraisers draw reliable conclusions, RSE is based on statistical concepts and displays results intuitively. A comparative study of classical recommendation algorithms is presented as an evaluation, highlighting RSE’s critical features.