Recently I was told by the CIO not to expect business requirements for projects. I'm not a PM but I've always believed that well-researched business requirements are essential to the success of a project. I work in IT Operations as part of a company that has been unsuccessful in establishing and maintaining a beneficial relationship with the business. So we don't really know how clients are using the current computing resources and we are trying to make the case for several new technologies that will fundamentally change the way our users (several thousand) accomplish their work and, of course, save time and money. To make that case, we need to perform discovery which I believe should involve talking to a cross-section of users and mangers to better understand needs (and wants). Am I wrong? And if I'm right how do I make the case to my CIO that business requirements are not optional? Thanks for your time and your thoughts.