Modern information technology paradigms, such as online services and off-the-shelf products, often involve a wide variety of users with different or even conflicting objectives. Every software output may satisfy some users, but may also fail to satisfy others. Furthermore, users often do not know the internal working mechanisms of the systems. This situation is quite different from bespoke software, where developers and users typically know each other. This paper proposes an approach to help users to better understand the software that they use, and thereby more easily achieve their objectives—even when they do not fully understand how the system is implemented. Our approach borrows the concept of metamorphic relations from the field of metamorphic testing (MT), using it in an innovative way that extends beyond MT. We also propose a “symmetry” metamorphic relation pattern and a “change direction” metamorphic relation input pattern that can be used to derive multiple concrete metamorphic relations. Empirical studies reveal previously unknown failures in some of the most popular applications in the world, and show how our approach can help users to better understand and better use the systems. The empirical results provide strong evidence of the simplicity, applicability, and effectiveness of our methodology.

中文翻译：

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增强系统理解和使用的变形关系

现代信息技术范式，例如在线服务和现成产品，通常涉及目标不同甚至相互冲突的各种用户。每个软件输出都可能满足一些用户，但也可能无法满足其他用户。此外，用户通常不知道系统的内部工作机制。这种情况与开发人员和用户通常相互认识的定制软件截然不同。本文提出了一种方法来帮助用户更好地理解他们使用的软件，从而更轻松地实现他们的目标——即使他们不完全了解系统是如何实现的。我们的方法从变形测试 (MT) 领域借用变形关系的概念，以超越 MT 的创新方式使用它。我们还提出了一个“对称”变形关系模式和一个“改变方向”变形关系输入模式，可用于导出多个具体的变形关系。实证研究揭示了世界上一些最流行的应用程序中以前未知的故障，并展示了我们的方法如何帮助用户更好地理解和更好地使用系统。实证结果为我们方法的简单性、适用性和有效性提供了强有力的证据。