Yuzu | La science derrière nos agents conversationnels

Research-driven expertise

PhD. Maxime Boutrouille

Scientific director

With a PhD in Work Psychology and Ergonomics, Maxime leads research at Yuzu. He oversees the design of assessments and studies evaluating their reliability and validity. He ensures that every agent is built on a rigorous competency model, with scenarios designed to elicit the right behaviours and deliver reliable measurements.

An associate researcher at the CRP-CPO laboratory at the University of Picardie Jules Verne, he devoted his doctoral thesis to the acceptance of new technologies by the people who use them. This is at the heart of his role at Yuzu: designing agents that your talent will embrace and whose results your teams can use with confidence.

Publications

2026 · Soft Skills Assessment in Human Resources, JMIR

2025 · Human–Cobot Interaction: A User-Centred Design, Conference paper

2024 · Optimising Acceptability Through User-Centred Design, J. of Applied Research and Technology

2024 · Acceptability of a Robotic Software System in Industry, Psychologie du Travail et des Organisations

2023 · Towards the Acceptance of Industrial Robots, PhD thesis

Conferences

2026 · After Text and Voice: AI Finally Has a Face, Human DAY 2026, Lille

2025 · When Science and AI Reinvent Talent Selection, Innovation Days: Industrial Transition & AI, Université de Lorraine, Commercy

2025 · Human-Cobot Interaction: A User-Centred Design, SELF, Université de Paris Nanterre

2022 · Impact of Technophilia and Guiding Supports on Software Acceptability, RoCHI, Craiova, Romania

2021 · Towards the Acceptance of Industrial Robots Through User-Centred Design, 11th EPIQUE Conference, Lille

Academic contributions

Associate Researcher, CRP-CPO, Université de Picardie Jules Verne

2026 · Adjunct Professor, Master’s in Human Resources, CNAM Arras

150 hours of lectures and tutorials in psychology and ergonomics, Bachelor’s (L1–L3) and Master’s (M1) levels, Université de Picardie Jules Verne

Peer Reviewer (7 reviews), International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

Master’s thesis jury member, M1 in Ergonomics, Université de Picardie Jules Verne

Our research partners

Université de Lorraine

60 Researchers

Lorraine Laboratory of Psychology and Neuroscience

The 2LPN is one of the laboratories within the scientific division Knowledge, Language, Communication and Society. Its research is structured around two complementary thematic areas.

CEmA for "Cognition, Emotion and Action"

Grounded in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, differential psychology and neuropsychology.

DETI for "Développement, Education, Travail, Interactions"

Grounded in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, work psychology, educational psychology and gerontopsychology.

Université de Picardie Jules Vernes

27 Researchers

Research Centre in Psychology: Cognition, Mind and Organisation

The Research Centre in Psychology: Cognition and Organisation (UPJV Research Unit 7273) specialises in three research areas:

Area 1 : Cognition, communication and learning

Area 2 : Therapeutic processes and healthcare systems

Area 3 : Organisations, society and innovation

These areas are studied from a lifespan perspective, taking into account individuals, groups and organisations, including people with and without impairments. The research combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Why use simulation ?

The most predictive method

Observing someone in a realistic situation is a better predictor of their success than asking them what they would do. Research has demonstrated this since the 1980s.

Self-Reporting has its limits

Questionnaires measure what people say about themselves, and in professional settings, people tend to present themselves in the best possible light. In a simulation, simply describing yourself is no longer enough: you have to act.

Rigour at scale

International standards require standardised exercises and trained assessors. Yuzu maintains these rigorous standards while making them accessible to everyone.

From competency to measurement in five steps

Define the competency

We draw on scientific literature and your competency framework to define precisely what we measure.

Translate competencies into behaviours

Listening before responding, rephrasing an objection: every competency is translated into an observable, concrete behaviour.

Design the scenarios

An employee who pushes back, a customer in a hurry, missing information: every scenario is carefully crafted to elicit these behaviours.

Validate the scoring

We compare AI-generated scores with expert assessments and test their consistency across a range of conversations. Discrepancies help us refine our assessment frameworks and scoring guidelines.

Monitor continuously

We regularly reassess a reference set of conversations to verify that scores remain consistent. These checks accompany model updates and help us detect deviations.

A methodology subject to scientific scrutiny

à paraître

Revue à comité de lecture

How Do Users Distinguish the Quality of the Experience Offered by a Simulation-Based Assessment Tool from Its Perceived Legitimacy as a Selection Method?

Masson, M., Boutrouille, M., Fichet, L., & Loup-Escande, E. (2026) · In preparation

2026

Revue à comité de lecture

Soft Skills Assessment in Human Resources: Cross-Sectorial Within-Participant Convergent Validity Study

Boutrouille, M., Fichet, L., & Dinet, J. (2026). JMIR Serious Games, 14, e86054.

2023

Conférence internationale

A Sorting Test to Assess Cognitive Flexibility in Personnel Selection: A pilot Study

Dinet, J., Kitajima, M., Fichet, L., (2023). COGNITIVE 2023: The Fifteenth International Conference on Advanced Cognitive Technologies and Applications. IARIA.

2023

Revue systématique

A Systematic Review of Customised Career Recommender Systems

Mavuso, N., Jere, N. R., & Van Greunen, D. (2023). 2023 2nd Zimbabwe Conference of Information and Communication Technologies (ZCICT). IEEE.

Discover how science shapes our agents

During a demo, we introduce you to our agents and answer your questions about our methodology, measurement reliability and compliance.

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