Scenarios are not a key concern for SmILES, but relevant for the parameterisation of system configurations. SmILES system configurations may make reference to "high level scenarios" to align the values of certain configuration parameters to an overall vision of energy system composition, e.g. a certain penetration of renewable generation or a particular regulatory framework.

The societal context reflects the social, political and economic context in which the scenarios, system configurations and use cases are embedded. This typically includes the public and political acceptance for renewable energy and storage technologies, and particular policy regulations and market structures that set the legal and financial conditions under which renewable energy technologies can be deployed.

A system configuration is a detailed, technical description of an energy system, in which the scenarios, system configurations and use cases are embedded (a list of energy domains, system components and their interrelations such as connectivity and hierarchy) and the inherent properties of the components. i.e. component attributes and constraints. The system configuration is the "static" part of a system description in the sense that, while dynamic attributes such as transient parameters may be included in it, it does not contain information about the use of the system.

A study case is a combination of a system configuration with specific use cases.

Use Cases are the descriptions of applications that define the important actors, systems and technologies, and their requirements that are part of these applications. Use cases tell the story of how someone or something interacts with a system to achieve a goal. A good use case will describe the interactions that lead to either achieving or abandoning the goal. A use case may describe multiple possible interaction paths.