What this RS232 transceiver does on your board
The 300 mV of receiver hysteresis gives it decent noise immunity on longer cable runs, which matters when the serial link leaves the PCB and heads across a factory floor or into an outdoor telecom cabinet.
If your design lives in a conditioned server room, the commercial-grade sibling would work, but this part already covers that case and then some.
Package and rework — 16-TSSOP
The 16-TSSOP package has a 0.173" body width and 4.40 mm pitch. It reflows with standard lead-free profiles and is hand-reworkable with hot air if the board is preheated.