I would tell you that this was effective in that it allowed border officers to be able to physically distance. It improved the quality of information that was collected from travellers. It sped up the process at the border. I would tell you that those 10,000 individuals who were told to incorrectly quarantine probably don't agree that it was effective.
However, even though it was effective, it doesn't mean you should pay more than you should have for an app. There's a difference between being effective and getting good value for money.