I taught a calculus class the the department had mandated be managed with MyMathLab. There is a kernel of a good idea in these subject-specific course content management systems, key among them is they give a reasonable way to actually manage homework for large course sections. I tended to grade HW very lightly, I just want them to have their head in the space a small bit every few days, and MML was a way to make that manageable for a section of 70+ students without losing my mind.

But the execution is so half-assed that it not only turns off students from the platform, but it runs the risk of turning them off to the actual subject matter as well. The whole thing had the stench of static requirements doc to a sub-contractor to a sub-contractor development pipeline with little to no end-user (that is, students, not department administrators) feedback in the development cycle.

It's a bit like self-driving cars in a way. The execution is everything, and the half-way hybridized situation is the most dangerous for the end-user. And the missed execution to me smells a bit like an arms race between Pearson, Wiley, etc. to get their platforms out and entrenched with individual departments before each other.