Table cells: verbose or abstract?
I got a surprising feedback from a large number of my user about something I would never consider an issue. If the number of votes on that particular feedback wasn't so large I would not consider it relevant, but now I am second guessing my intuition.
In my product there is a table/matrix that displays flights and their attributes.
The rows represent available flights types:
Fare A
Fare B
Fare C
The columns represent flight attributes. The header row literally reads:
Fare name | Refundable | Free checked bags
Importantly, this is a very small matrix, showing no more than 5 fares (usually only 1 or 2) and exactly 3 attributes.
The cells of the table show
Yes/No
for the refundability, and
0/1/2
for free checked bags.
As as said, it is a small table that always fits on a single screen.
The feedback says the cells are confusing and difficult to interpret.
Instead of Refundable cells showing Yes/No, the feedback asks for the cells to show: Refundable/Non-refundable.
Instead of 0/1/2 for Free checked bags the cells should show: No free checked bags/1 free checked bag/2 free checked bags.
As I said, I am really surprised by such feedback. I would myself never consider it an issue, but maybe I have missed a trend or an important study?