Abstract: A Software Fault Management (SFM) system for managing software faults in a managed mobile telecommunications network. The SFM system includes an Intelligent Management Information Base (I-MIB) comprising a Management Information Base (MIB) and a Knowledge Base (KB) having a functional model of the managed network and a trouble report/known faults (TR/KF) case base. The SFM system also includes an intelligent multi-agent portion having a plurality of agents which process the software faults utilizing the functional model from the I-MIB, case-based information, and other management information. The I-MIB and the intelligent multi-agent portion are compliant with Telecomunications Management Network (TMN) principles and framework. Fault management is both proactive and reactive. The SFM system is made independent of technology-specific implementations by representing the underlying switch design knowledge in a modular and changeable form which is then interpreted by the intelligent multi-agent portion.