A few days ago, during contract renewal, company's boss asked my honest opinion about what is wrong in the project I'm working at. This wasn't a part of any review or feedback procedure, neither it was along the lines of "tell me if you have any problems". I'm always vocal about problems I see and apparently he likes that attitude, so he asked a specific question.
I replied that I need a bit of time to gather my thoughts, but I have a problem figuring out what would be professional behaviour here. It feels like going behind the back of my immediate manager (the project's lead), even though I do always forward my comments and ideas to her. Should I ask company's boss to follow the chain of management he established, or should I answer his question?
EDIT: Updating with requested information. Yes, I believe there are serious problems and yes, project's lead is part of them. At least the failure of escalating some of my comments to her boss - which would make him less inclined to ask me directly - is an obvious problem on her part. But it's also obvious that I shouldn't be badmouthing anyone, so I'm always attempting to give criticism about the process, not the people involved.
The problem here is between agreeing to report directly to her superior, which is bad, or refusing his request, which could be seen as rudeness.