In this article, we present charts for attribute control by means of the proportion ( $p$) of defective items, named $p$‐charts. Such charts are often used in statistical quality control to monitor the behavior of production processes by means of $p$ over time. When the sample size ( $n$) is constant, charts for attribute control related to the number ( $\mathit{np}$) of defective items, named $\mathit{np}$‐charts, are a good alternative to the $p$‐charts. A review of the basic issues related to $p$‐charts and some recent ideas on the topic are provided considering life distributions. An implementation in the R software is discussed using examples.