Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of action design research (ADR), a combination of action research and design science research, when conducting research where both practical relevance and academic rigor are required. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents ADR in action in order to motivate its use when investigating real-world organisational concerns requiring practical solutions, whilst also fulfilling academic requirements. Findings: When research methodology aligns to research objectives, the resulting synchronicity can elevate the outcome considerably. From this study, which attempts to address concerns of informing practice, as well as advancing theory, ADR appears to be an extremely effective research tool. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to a single organisation and it would not be possible to make statistical generalisations. It is hoped, however, that the findings can be generalised to a theory that can be used in a similar setting. It would be valuable to discover whether other studies using ADR also find such effective alignment between relevance and rigour. Practical implications: The research involves an intervention in the finance course offerings for staff training in the workplace. The detailed description of each of the seven ADR stages could prove useful for other researchers contemplating using ADR. The paper offers an example of ADR in practice. Originality/value: This paper outlines the suitability and advantages of adopting an ADR approach, where the goal is to meet the challenge of implementing a solution in a real-world situation, whilst also adding to academic theory and knowledge.