Method 635 or 6-3-5 Method

This is a group creativity technique originally developed by  Bernd Rohrbach (1968).
The name Brainwriting 6-3-5 comes from the process of having 6 participants who sit in a group and write 3 ideas on separate cards every 5 minutes. Participants are encouraged to draw on others’ ideas for inspiration, thus stimulating the creative process. After 6 rounds in 30 minutes, the group has thought up a total of 108 ideas.

Procedure Steps

1.  Each person received  a blank 6-3-5 worksheet.
2.  Everyone writes the problem statement at the top of their worksheet.
3.   Each participant writes three ideas on the top row of the worksheet in 5 minutes related to the problem statement.
4.  At the end of 5 minutes or when everyone has finished, participants pass the cards with written ideas to the person on their left (or right).
5. The participants read all ideas passed to them, further developed the ideas or added three more ideas.
6. This process continues until each participant receives back his or her own card written during round one.
7. Lastly, all ideas are clustered and recorded.

Advantages. This is an easy procedure exchange of knowledge, building new ideas on previous ideas. All participants are active and avoid social loafing and production blocking.
Disadvantages. In a similar way to brainstorming, it is not the quality of ideas that matters but the quantity.