Fast computer processors have made complicated engineering computation techniques, such as finite element method, that was once require hours and hours of computing time, has now been made possible to run all the computation in less than an hour. Since the early 2000s, the availability of commercial geotechnical finite element software combined with faster, smaller, and cheaper notebook computer has made finite element method more accessible to many engineers. However, it is very often the engineers learn just how to operate the software through the tutorial manual without really understand the underlying geotechnical engineering knowledge, they do not realize the old saying: “Garbage in garbage out”. This paper, albeit may not complete, tries to elaborate the common mistakes found in applying the finite element geotechnical software in designing geosynthetics mechanically stabilized earth wall. It does not consider the construction process of the reinforced soil wall where the fill is being built up, during which most of the geogrid strain is developed.
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